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A financial manager who works at a livestock auction house has been identified as the club cricketer at the centre of a cheating scandal in a northern England cricket league.
Veteran club cricketer Brian Devine has been dubbed “Clicky Ponting” by the English press, a reference to Australian great Ricky Ponting, as he awaits his fate for his alleged role in what one opponent has described as the “worst case of cheating I’ve ever seen”.
Devine is the company secretary and a director of Northallerton Auctions Limited, a company that runs livestock markets.
According to his company profile, Devine has a “strong background in financial management built up from a wealth of industry sectors”. His profile also urges those in the area to “pop in and introduce yourself”.
He may no longer want visitors at his workplace after being accused of clicking his fingers in the aim of duping the umpire into giving batters out caught behind during a second XI match on Saturday for the Saltburn Cricket Club against Norton.
Footage has emerged of incidents from numerous games involving Devine where he allegedly adopts the ploy at the expense of bemused batters in division two of the North Yorkshire & South Durham Cricket League.
The allegations have rocked the cricket world, drawing condemnation from South Africa great Dale Steyn and prominent British broadcaster Piers Morgan.
Morgan, who has been scathing of Australia’s cricketers for stumping Jonny Bairstow at Lord’s in the 2023 Ashes, posted twice on X to his 8.9 million followers slamming Devine.
“Outrageous cheating, and just the tip of the iceberg from all that’s come out since it was exposed. Clicky Ponting (as he is now known) and various teammates at Saltburn CC, have clearly been at this shameful scam for years. Imagine doing this in local amateur cricket? Pathetic,” Morgan wrote.
He later wrote: “Unbelievable. Clicky Ponting must be the biggest cheat in cricket history. How long has he been doing this? How many batsmen’s days has he ruined?”
Steyn labelled Devine a “click clown”.
The NYSD Premier Cricket League announced on Monday night (UK time) it had launched a full investigation into the scandal but no findings or further comment had been issued at the time of publication.
This masthead has attempted to contact the league, Saltburn Cricket Club and Devine.
Such is the interest in the bizarre case, cricket enthusiasts have gone as far as compiling a statistical breakdown of the number of catches taken by Saltburn second XI wicketkeepers in matches Devine played compared to those he missed.
The results, compiled by the @maxtempers X account, revealed the wicketkeeper had claimed 39 catches in 13 matches with Devine compared to five in seven without.
Devine’s mother-in-law has defended the beleaguered club cricketer, whose alleged sharp practice in a game likely watched by only a few onlookers has now gone global, describing him as a “man of integrity”.
“It was only a little village cricket match and now it’s become this thing that’s all over the news and social media,” Georgine Vaughan told the Daily Mail.
“It has got totally out of hand and there is nothing that any of us want to say.”
But Devine is under fire from the owner of an Indian restaurant, Spices, in Saltburn that has withdrawn their sponsorship of him. The deal was worth about $1905 plus restaurant discounts, the Daily Mail reported.
“I’m a huge cricket fan and what’s happened is very bad. It’s not in the spirit of this gentleman’s game,” restaurant owner Akmol Hussain said.
“It’s not what I expect from Brian, or the club and I want nothing to do with them from now. I love cricket and even used to play for fun but I’m too old now.
“I’m very shocked and disgusted by this video and can’t believe that Brian would do something like this. I’ve met him many times, but he has damaged the reputation of cricket and my restaurant.”
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