The cheating club cricketer dubbed 'Clicky Ponting' has been given a two-year ban from the sport following an England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) investigation.
asserted
cricketer → dub → investigation
In July, footage of Brian Devine, an amateur player for Saltburn's 2nd team, went viral around the world after he was caught deceiving umpires by clicking his fingers as the ball passed the bat to imitate an edge and claim wickets for his team.
uncertain
ball → go → team
He was subsequently given the tongue-in-cheek nickname 'Clicky Ponting' – a play on former Australian captain Ricky Ponting – and the scandal caused amusement and outrage in equal measure.
Devine has now been banned for two years from involvement in cricket in any form, be that playing, coaching or even scoring, according to Teesside Live.
His team on the coast of the north-east of England have also suffered – punished with relegation to the third division where they will start the 2027 season with a 60-point deduction in addition to a £300 fine.
A statement from Saltburn CC read: 'The club fully participated in the disciplinary proceedings and accept the decision of the appeal following the original decision from the League.
uncertain
club → give → League
We are now focussing on preparations for the 2027 season.
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We → focusse → season
Brian Devine - dubbed 'Clicky Ponting' - has been banned from cricket until September, 2028
'
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Devine → dub → September
The punishments come after a thorough process which included player interviews, written statements and a detailed review of the video footage.
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which → come → footage
The North Yorkshire and South Durham Cricket League have emailed every club in their system to acknowledge the strain the scandal had caused.
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scandal → email → strain
Devine, 38, has played for years at Saltburn Cricket Club and is well known on the cricket scene in North Yorkshire.
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Devine → play → Yorkshire
The father-of-one, from Guisborough, Cleveland, works as a company secretary at Northallerton Auctions, which specialises in auctions for livestock and farm machinery and suddenly became the centre of a story that captured global attention.
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that → work → attention
His outrageous cheating racked up millions of views online and the story came to light after a match against Norton Cricket Club.
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story → rack → Club
Footage showed Norton batsman Noman Shabir play at and completely miss his first delivery which had pitched outside the off stump.
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which → show → stump
As the ball passed Shabir the fielder standing at first slip, Devine, clicked his fingers.
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fielder → pass → fingers
This imitated the sound of the ball nicking the edge of Shabir's bat and when the wicketkeeper took the catch, the umpire raised his finger to give Shabir out.
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umpire → imitate → Shabir
The game happened to have been live-streamed online and a recording was preserved on the ECB's 'Play Cricket' website.
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recording → happen → website
The Saltburn player was seen on camera clicking his fingers each time the ball neared the bat
A Durham-based amateur cricketer named Ben Mummery, who had been tipped off about the series of events, posted footage to X, where he dubbed it 'about the worst case of cheating I have ever seen in cricket'.
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I → see → cricket
It racked up millions of views and put Saltburn under international scrutiny from cricket fans across the globe.
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It → rack → globe
Viewers turned up dozens of similar incidents from the archives, suggesting that Saltburn (which, ironically, calls itself a 'friendly, sociable and inclusive cricket club') had been employing the cynical scam for more than a season.
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which → turn → season
In almost every one of the clips that emerged, Devine is the fielder standing at first slip.
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Devine → emerge → slip
Piers Morgan dubbed the club's behaviour 'outrageous cheating' and a 'shameful scam'.
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Morgan → dub → behaviour
The statistics also outlined the scale of the breathtaking deception.
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statistics → outline → deception
In the 13 matches that Devine played for Saltburn last season, wicketkeepers took an astonishing 39 catches.
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wicketkeepers → play → catches
In the seven that he didn't play, they managed just five.
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they → play → five
In one match against Shildon Railway on July 18, no fewer than eight catches were claimed by wicketkeeper Josh Bowes.
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catches → claim → Bowes
To put that number in perspective, the record for wicketkeeper catches taken in a single men's Test innings, over a period spanning 2,600 matches and 150 years, is a mere seven.
Saltburn-by-the-Sea's historic cricket ground, with its white picket fence and neatly mown outfield.
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record → put → fence
Its team have now been booted out the league
Devine was suspended by the club when the cheating was unearthed online and also faced the ignominy of being ditched by his official sponsor, a local Indian restaurant named Spices which he patronises regularly.
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he → boot → which
Back in July when the scandal broke, it was left to Georgina Vaughn, the mother of Devine's partner Clare, to defend his honour.
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it → break → honour
She told Guy Adams, Daily Mail Senior Feature Writer: 'It was only a little village cricket match and now it's become this thing that's all over the news and social media.
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that → tell → news
It has got totally out of hand and there is nothing any of us want to say.'
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any → get → us
Asked whether Devine was a man of integrity, she replied: 'He certainly is.'
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He → ask → integrity
The ECB's investigation has found otherwise and Devine will not be able to return to the sport until September 2028.
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Devine → find → September
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