The ‘spirit of cricket’ is hard to pin down, but Clicky Ponting’s trial by social media ain’t it

July 31, 2026 — 3:30pm

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This week, the curious case of Brian Devine, of Saltburn Cricket Club’s second XI in the North Yorkshire and South Durham League, Division Two, found its way into the sports pages of national newspapers across Australia.

The team from Saltburn had defeated opponents Norton by 159 runs. Norton’s No.4 arrived at the crease at a tense juncture. First ball pitched outside off and beat his bat entirely. However, as the ball passed through to the cordon, the fielder at first slip is alleged to have clicked his fingers, mimicking the sound of an edge.

The wicketkeeper gloved the ball cleanly, Saltburn appealed in violent harmony, and the umpire’s finger pointed skywards. The batter’s displeasure was patent. His remonstrating amounted to not much. Until it did.

Ordinarily the umpire’s decision would have been the end of things. Except that the match was livestreamed (and archived) on the England and Wales Cricket Board’s Play Cricket platform. Because in 2026, everything is streamed and recorded because apparently there’s an audience for this content.

From that, 12 seconds or thereabouts of the footage made its way onto social media. From there, awareness of the video spread like Ebola. Cue mayhem.

Inside 100 hours, Devine had been shamed globally, branded “Clicky Ponting”; apparently jettisoned by his club for the foreseeable future; investigated by his league; speared by a sponsor; outed in print by his day job at a livestock auction house; and pronounced by Piers Morgan as a cheat running a years-long clicking scam. The Grade Cricketer offered to underwrite Devine’s legal fees.

But did Devine’s alleged actions amount to cheating? If a fielder manufactures the sound of........

© Brisbane Times