A cricketer who has become known as ‘Clicky Ponting’ for his role in a cheating scandal has been banned by his club – who have finally broken their silence.Saltburn cricketer Brian Devine is accused of clicking his fingers to imitate the sound of the ball hitting the bat, to fool the umpire into thinking the batter is out.The amateur cricket scandal has caused convulsions around the cricketing world.Now, more than 24 hours after clips of Devine went viral, Saltburn have confirmed that the player has been banned from the club.’This statement 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,’ the statement, shared on social media, began.’We are treating this allegation with the utmost seriousness and, as a family-centric Club, we are fully cooperating with the NYSD League’s investigation. Brian Devine has been dubbed ‘Clicky Ponting’ on social media for his cricket fielding actions Saltburn Cricket Club have broken their silence on the ordeal, revealing the player has been banned pending an 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.’We will be making no further comment at this time.’Devine is accused of clicking his fingers while fielding for the club to make it sound as though the ball had hit the bat when it had in fact not.If the ball hits the bat and is then caught, it means a batter is out.The minor league cricketer at the centre of the scandal is ‘completely bewildered’ to find himself engulfed by a global furore.Friends say Devine’s ‘head is all over the place’ after the accusation that he clicked his fingers to imitate the sound of the ball hitting the bat.A friend of Devine’s said he was not expected to play and would ‘lie low’ while the cheating row continues. Amateur cricket player Devine has been caught appearing to click his fingers to make it appear that a batter has been caught behind when in fact they haven’t hit the ball at all Other incidences have been found of Devine clicking his finger in previous matches for wicketsThe friend said: ‘Brian is completely bewildered by the way this has gone all around the world.’He’s had an Australian podcast offering to pay his legal bills today – it’s the first that he’s heard that he’s got any legal bills and he’s hoping it won’t get that far.’His mates have been telling him to sell his story in Australia, but he just wants it all to go away and hopes he can get back to playing cricket, though at the moment that feels impossible for him.’He woke up on Monday morning thinking the world was still the same place he’d left it the night before and suddenly his story was all over the world, in Australia, India, New Zealand and the UK of course.’He understands why there is an investigation but the reaction all over the world to all this has knocked him sideways.’Mr Devine, 38, a father who lives with his partner in Guisborough, North Yorkshire, has continued to decline to comment. His mobile phone number was also removed from the company website at the auction mart in Northallerton where he works.At Saltburn Cricket Club’s clubhouse, prior to their statement, journalists were angrily told to leave by a club official, who said: ‘We’re sick of this now, you have no right to come here.’A Durham-based amateur cricketer named Ben Mummery, who had been tipped off about the series of events, posted footage to X, where he dubbed it ‘about the worst case of cheating I have ever seen in cricket’. Saltburn have been widely condemned on social media following multiple videos emergingThat clip had soon clocked up millions of views.Viewers then began to trawl the archives for other similar incidents. They promptly turned up dozens, suggesting that Saltburn had been employing the cynical scam for more than a season.In almost every one of the clips that have emerged, Devine can be seen standing at first slip, clicking his fingers as the ball whistles past.One particularly damning video was posted by Rory Cotterill, the captain of Middlesbrough CC’s second XI. He said there had been two more incidents like it in a single game they played on Saturday, June 27, which Saltburn won by 29 runs, ‘leading to a 15 and 16-year-old being cheated out of an innings’. He added: ‘I was at the non-striker’s end at the time, unknowingly watching them cheat in real time.’Other cricket fans to weigh in included Piers Morgan, who dubbed the club’s behaviour ‘outrageous cheating’ and a ‘shameful scam’. Several posters dubbed Devine ‘Clicky Ponting’ – a play on the name of former Australian captain Ricky Ponting – on social media.Georgina Vaughan, the mother of Devine’s partner Clare, said the family had been shocked by the scale of the cheating row.She said: ‘It was only a little village cricket match and now it’s become this thing that’s all over the news and social media.’It has got totally out of hand and there is nothing that any of us want to say.’Asked whether Devine was a man of integrity, she replied: ‘He certainly is.’A statement from the North Yorkshire and South Durham League read: ‘The League has received a formal complaint regarding alleged incidents in a Division Two game on Saturday 25th July 2026. A full investigation has been initiated and until such time as the formal processes are complete, no further comment will be made.’