Saltburn suspend fielder accused of cheating in ‘Clicky Ponting’ incident

Saltburn Cricket Club have said they are treating allegations of cheating very seriously and have suspended the player at the centre of the controversy for the “foreseeable future”. A Saltburn fielder was accused of clicking his fingers to get a catch behind and footage of several incidents later went viral on social media.

The first video, posted on Monday evening, was from Saltburn’s second XI victory over Norton in Division Two of North Yorkshire and South Durham Cricket League. It showed the fielder clicking his fingers as the ball passed the bat of the Norton batter, Noman Shabir, before being caught by the wicketkeeper, Josh Bowes, and the umpire gave him out.

Saltburn, who sit 17 points clear at the top of the table, won the match by 159 runs and announced they have conceded their second-team cup fixture against Marton on Wednesday.

A statement on Saltburn’s social media channels read: “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.

“We are treating this allegation with the utmost seriousness and, as a family-centric club, we are fully cooperating with the NYS 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.

“Initial discussions have already taken place between club officials and the league.

“This has been a very distressing and stressful experience for all those concerned, and we would ask that this reality is borne in mind and that personal boundaries are respected, as we are an amateur club entirely run by volunteers.”

The video has now had more than 7.5m views on X, with several celebrities condemning the behaviour.