Up to his old clicks? Local ‘Clicky Ponting’ cricket player at centre of ‘cheat’ row ‘used same ploy at previous club’

The ‘Clicky Ponting’ scandal gripping amateur cricket has spread across Yorkshire amid claims that the man behind it began cheating at a second club five years ago.

Brian Devine, whose club Saltburn CC faces a corruption investigation, has been caught on camera attempting to mislead umpires during a game for his previous side, Pudsey St Lawrence.

Footage of a Bradford Premier League match from August 2021 shows him repeatedly clicking his fingers while opponents are batting, in an apparent effort to mimic the sound of a ball hitting the bat.

At the time, Devine was captain of Pudsey St Lawrence’s second XI. On the day in question, his side restricted their opponents New Farnley to 136 runs in a rain-affected game they eventually lost.

The team came third in the league that year, and fourth in 2022, before winning the title in Devine’s final season at the club. As skipper, he was photographed on the club’s social media feeds brandishing a large trophy.

Only a tiny number of matches were filmed at the time. But statistics survive showing that during the three seasons Devine captained Pudsey St Lawrence, its second XI wicketkeeper Jacob McDonald took 96 catches, an average of 32 per year.

Devine then returned to Saltburn, his childhood club, in 2024 after taking a job as company secretary to a livestock auctioneer in Northallerton.

In the two years that followed his departure, McDonald took 22 and 15 catches respectively. So far this season, he’s managed just five.

Footage from 2021 shows Devine attempting to mislead umpires during a game for his previous side Pudsey St Lawrence

Footage of Devine flamboyantly clicking his fingers five years ago, which was uncovered by the Daily Mail yesterday, has sparked calls for the Bradford Premier League to mount a formal investigation.

Sources at other clubs now believe umpires in the league, which was founded in 1902, were for years being routinely misled into ruling that opposing batsmen had touched the ball and been caught by McDonald.

‘Our lads have been looking back at surviving film and score books and we have come to the conclusion that he’s been at it for years,’ said a source at one rival club.

‘Young players will have lost opportunities because of this, match results will have undoubtedly been affected, and there is a good case for now stripping Pudsey St Lawrence of its 2023 title. 

Devine was a highly competitive and quite bumptious captain, and the bigger question is of course what club staff and his team-mates did or didn’t know about his antics.’

Bradford Premier League officials were not returning calls last night. But a finding of wrongdoing would send shockwaves through Yorkshire cricket.

Pudsey St Lawrence, which was founded in 1845, is one of the most venerable teams in club cricket and produced two of Yorkshire and England’s greatest ever players: Herbert Sutcliffe, who averaged more than 60 in Test matches, and Sir Leonard Hutton, who scored 368 against Australia in 1938.

Martin Reed, Chairperson at Pudsey St Lawrence Cricket Club, told the Daily Mail: ‘We were not aware of any issues with Mr Devine’s behaviour during his time at the club, nor were concerns raised with us by other clubs or officials. 

‘Had we been made aware of any issues at the time we would have taken appropriate action. 

‘It is some time since Mr Devine left Pudsey St Lawrence and we are aware that the North Yorkshire and South Durham Cricket League and Saltburn Cricket Club are currently investigating the matter.’