Saltburn 'Clicky Ponting' banned for two years after finger-click cricket scam
Saltburn CC second XI fielder Brian Devine – dubbed 'Clicky Ponting' after viral footage of him clicking his fingers at first slip to fake an edge – has been banned from all cricket for two years. The club's 2nd XI was relegated and fined.
In Saltburn-by-the-Sea, a finger click was enough to fool an umpire – and now it’s cost a club cricketer two years of the game.
Brian Devine, 38, of Saltburn CC’s second XI, became an internet villain in July after footage from the North Yorkshire and South Durham Cricket League went viral. Standing at first slip, he was seen clicking his fingers as the ball passed the bat – enough to convince the umpire a Norton CC batter had edged a catch behind. The batter was given out. Online, Devine picked up the nickname “Clicky Ponting”, a nod to former Australia captain Ricky Ponting. More clips of similar clicks then surfaced.
After player interviews, written statements and a panel review of the footage, both Devine and Saltburn CC accepted misconduct charges. Sanctions announced on Friday: Devine is banned from all cricket under the England and Wales Cricket Board until the end of the 2028 season – covering playing, coaching, umpiring, scoring and managing junior teams. Saltburn were fined £300, their 2nd XI were relegated to Division Three, and they will start 2027 with a 60-point deduction.
Stock photo: a village cricket match (26 Jul 2025) – not the Saltburn fixture. Photo: Philip Halling / CC BY-SA 2.0 (via Geograph / Wikimedia Commons).
Real photo: Saltburn-by-the-Sea (4 Jun 2024) – not the cricket ground. Photo: Mtaylor848 / CC BY-SA 4.0 (via Wikimedia Commons).
AI illustration – imagined hearing. (Spot Gaz, our gorilla, hiding somewhere in this picture.)
AI illustration – imagined aftermath; not a real photograph of Devine or Saltburn CC.
The league asked everyone to respect that the formal process is now complete, noting the strain on a volunteer-run club and people who were abused online. Saltburn said it fully took part in the proceedings, accepts the appeal decision, and is looking ahead to 2027.
Click. Out. Banned.
Reported by The Guardian (Ali Martin, 6 Nov 2026) and Teesside Live (Craig Johns, 5 Nov 2026); also Sky Sports, Telegraph and Mirror.
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