Cricket's latest cheating storm comes from an amateur league with the allegation a player clicked his fingers to convince umpires that the ball hit the bat [Paul Childs/Reuters]By Al Jazeera Staff and ReutersPublished On 30 Jul 202630 Jul 2026
An English amateur cricketer at the centre of allegations of finger-clicking trickery has been suspended and will not play “for the foreseeable future”, his club has said.
The fielder, dubbed “Clicky Ponting” on social media in a punning nod to former Australia captain Ricky Ponting, allegedly tricked umpires by clicking his fingers to make the sound of a ball nicking the bat as deliveries were missed and caught by the wicketkeeper.
The video footage went viral on social media and made international headlines.
Saltburn Cricket Club, run by volunteers, said on Wednesday in a statement it was treating the allegations “with the utmost seriousness”.
“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.”
It said initial discussions between club officials and the North Yorkshire and South Durham league had already taken place.
The league said on Tuesday it had received a formal complaint “regarding alleged incidents in a Division Two game on Saturday 25th July 2026”.
Saltburn said it had been a distressing and stressful experience for all concerned and asked for “personal boundaries” to be respected.
The club are top of the Division Two table with 10 wins from 15 matches.
Historically, cricketers – even at the highest level of the game – have been accused of trying to trick umpires with noises, including chomping on a biscuit, to fool umpires into believing the ball hit the bat.
Cricket cheating allegations have even extended to dirt being applied to the ball, for which former England captain Michael Atherton was once fined, and the use of bottle tops to scuff the ball.
Both were attempts to create extra swing for the quick bowlers.
