A video of a Saltburn cricket fielder appearing to click his fingers to trick the umpire into thinking the ball hit the bat has gone viral, drawing comparisons to the Argentina football team and prompting reactions ranging from laughter to outrage in the seaside town.
Ukulele club and seafront reactions
At the Saltburn over-60s ukulele club, the news was met with laughter and a rendition of I Love to Boogie. On the seafront, a litter-picking volunteer said, “All I would say is it’s just not cricket, is it?” Bill Peters, a retired steelworker who grew up playing cricket in St Lucia, noted that such an act there “would have been a big fight.”
The incident and its fallout
The video, from Saturday’s game between Saltburn second XI and Norton second XI, shows a fielder clicking as the batter swings. The batter is seen protesting to the umpire as Saltburn players celebrate. The fielder has been dubbed ‘Clicky Ponting’, though his real name is Brian Devine, a 38-year-old company secretary. The clip has been viewed more than 7 million times and made headlines worldwide, including in Australia.
League investigation and local impact
Neither Saltburn nor Norton have commented, and the North Yorkshire and South Durham Cricket League is investigating. The Guardian found no one willing to talk at the cricket club, while tennis players on adjacent courts burst out laughing. Pete Welsh, a retired teacher and litter picker, said, “It must have been a very loud click. If he was doing it and cricket is a gentleman’s game, it wasn’t very gentleman-like.”
Previous match suspicions
Shane Rowley, who played for Shildon Railway second XI in a previous match against Saltburn, claimed he was a victim of clicking. In that game, the Saltburn wicketkeeper made eight catches, a feat exceeding the men’s Test record of seven. Rowley said he was “absolutely fuming” and later apologized to umpires after the Clickgate footage emerged. “I’ve never been involved in a game where I’ve seen anything like it and I’ve been playing for 30 years,” he told the Guardian.
Calls for punishment
Ian Palmer, chair of Newton Aycliffe Cricket Club, called the alleged cheating “scandalous.” Neal Toulson, former chair of Thornaby Cricket Club, said it reflected a wider malaise in cricket: “When I was a lad, you never even appealed unless you thought it was genuinely out. Now everybody’s shouting for everything.” He added, “It has come across as a bit of a joke but it’s not. It’s cheating. If the guy is found guilty he should be punished.”
