‘Clicky Ponting’ handed two-year suspension for finger-clicking deception

November 7, 2026 — 1:58pmThe English amateur cricketer who went viral for finger-clicking trickery has been handed a two-year suspension, the North Yorkshire & South Durham Cricket League has said.The fielder, Saltburn player Brian Devine who was dubbed “Clicky Ponting” on social media in a nod to former Australia captain Ricky Ponting, was accused of tricking umpires by clicking his fingers to make the sound of a ball nicking the bat as deliveries were missed and caught by the wicketkeeper.Brian Devine in his fielding position.The video footage went viral on social media and made international headlines this year. A three-person disciplinary panel reviewed the footage and considered player interviews and written statements before imposing the ban.“The player concerned is suspended from all cricket under the ECB’s (the England and Wales Cricket Board) jurisdiction for two years, from 30 September 2026 to 29 September 2028. This covers playing, coaching, umpiring, scoring and managing junior teams,” the NYSDL said in a statement.Additionally, Saltburn Cricket Club have been fined 300 pounds ($402.87) and their 2nd XI has been relegated to division three of the NYSDCL and will start the 2027 season with a 60-point deduction, the league added.‘I had a chuckle about it,’ says PontingRicky Ponting, who led Australia to two 50-over World Cup titles, said he found the controversy amusing.“It was quite amusing,” Ponting told this masthead in August.“Actually, I mean the connotations probably weren’t quite as amusing that it was me seemingly cheating again, or having someone in the game cheating named after me. But after I thought about it, I had a chuckle about it. Thankfully, it all went away in a couple of days.“The first thing that came to mind with that was when [Shane] Warne used to bowl and when he bowled his flipper, his fingers used to click like that as well, but his finger and his thumb would come underneath the ball and make that clicking sound. That was really the only time that I’d ever heard anything like that.“I think it was all just a bit of fun. I said there was nothing [to it]. It didn’t worry me too much at all. I mean, when I woke up and saw the headline ... and then clicked on the video and watched it, and yeah, probably wished that headline hadn’t been there then.”Amid the myriad headlines in July and August, Australian fast bowler Josh Hazlewood said urban cricket legend was rife with stories that were only now being captured by video streaming.Unlike at professional level, though, there is no “Snicko” technology at amateur levels to confirm whether a noise as the ball passes the bat is actually an edge.“I’d say that stuff’s been going on for 100 years and it’s just now with livestreaming that people have picked it up,” Hazlewood said at the time.“You could ask around cricket clubs for years and years and you’d find there are heaps of stories of people trying to get away with things like that, for sure.”When the incident emerged Saltburn said it was treating the allegation against the player seriously and urged those who have rushed to condemn Devine to remember that they are an amateur club run by volunteers.Brian Devine.“This is issued in response to the widely publicised complaint made against a Saltburn Cricket Club member and, as a consequence, against the club more generally,” said the statement released in late July.“We are treating this allegation with the utmost seriousness and, as a family-centric club, we are fully co-operating with the NYSD League’s investigation.“We believe that the club acted decisively as soon as the complaint and investigation were made known to us. The player at the centre of the complaint has been suspended and will not play again for the club this season or in the foreseeable future, pending the outcome of this investigation.”With ReutersFrom our partners