An amateur cricketer has become a viral sensation online after allegedly using finger clicks to mimic the sound of bat-on-ball edges, fooling umpires into giving batters out.
The North Yorkshire and South Durham league has launched an investigation into a Division Two match between Saltburn Cricket Club and Norton, where the Saltburn fielder was caught on camera clicking his fingers as deliveries passed the bat.
The player, who fields at slip or silly point, appears to have perfected the art of creating fake edge sounds just as batters make tentative prods at deliveries subsequently caught by the wicketkeeper.
The fact the bowler high fives first slip first makes this even more planned . . . pic.twitter.com/syXGYTQKj8
— Rejected Manager (@RejectedBook) July 27, 2026
Few from a couple of seasons ago, same guy previous club..... Always wondered why they had a slip in for 50 overs 🤔 pic.twitter.com/sVGrKqpyYy
July 27, 2026
The bemused batter can be seen protesting to the umpire as Saltburn players celebrate. Ben Mummery, who posted the video on X, said it was “about the worst case of cheating I’ve ever seen in cricket”.
“Apparently, their keeper has a huge amount of catches this season,” he said.
Mummery said he was pleased to see the video had gone viral and was uniting the cricket world: “I’m genuinely really happy it’s being exposed. Harshest possible punishment please. It’s not cricket.”
Videos circulating online show the fielder's alleged finger-snapping antics, earning him the nickname "Clicky Ponting", a pun on the name of former Australia captain Ricky Ponting.
Boro 2s skippa here, was 2 more incidents during this game, leading to a 15 and 16 year old being cheated out of an innings, along with this one. I was at the non strikers end at the time unknowingly watching them cheat in real time. We lost this game by 29 runs. Shocking. pic.twitter.com/BTTngKbjw3
— rory99 (@rorycotters9) July 27, 2026
"The League have received a formal complaint regarding alleged incidents in a Division Two game on Saturday 25th July 2026," the league said. "A full investigation has been initiated and until such time as the formal processes are complete no further comment will be made."
The League have received a formal complaint regarding alleged incidents in a Division Two game on Saturday. A full investigation has been initiated and until such time as the formal processes are complete no further comment will be made.
— Official NYSDCricket (@NYSDCricket) July 27, 2026
Saltburn crushed Norton by 159 runs. Their wicketkeeper Josh Bowes also took eight catches in a 22-run victory over Shildon Railway the previous weekend. The record in test cricket is seven catches by a wicketkeeper in one innings.
