‘Worst ever seen’: Cheating storm erupts over English club cricketer’s ‘dodgy’ act

A social media storm has erupted over a cheating scandal in English club cricket with cricketers around the globe left outraged over the clicking of a fielder’s fingers.

A clip from Saltburn Cricket Club’s second XI clash with Middlesborough Cricket Club’s second XI in the North Yorkshire and South Durham League showed a Saltburn slip fielder clicking his fingers as the ball passed the outside edge of the bat.

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The umpire fell for the ploy giving the batter out and the publishing of the clip unleashed a wave of social media posts speaking out against the cheating incident, which has been a common occurrence.

The original poster described it as “about the worst case of cheating I’ve ever seen in cricket” and tagged media outlets TalkSport, BBC’s Test Match Special, Sky Sports Cricket and the Tailenders Podcast, which includes England legend Jimmy Anderson, to spread the conversation far and wide.

Middlesborough’s captain replied in the comments with more footage, saying there were two more incidents like it in that same game, which Saltburn won by 29 runs, “leading to a 15 and 16 year old being cheated out of an innings”.

Other players within in the league in England’s north joined in the outcry once they saw the original tweet blow up.

While The Daily Mail’s Guy Adams dug up a scorecard from a game against Shildon Railway’s first XI where the wicketkeeper took eight catches in the innings.

For context, the record for most catches in an innings by a wicketkeeper at Test level is seven.

Saltburn’s gloveman has snaffled 31 catches in eight matches this season.

In comparison, the record for most catches by a wicketkeeper in a Test series belong to former Australian gloveman Brad Haddin, who took 29 catches across ten innings in the 2013 Ashes.

It has been a tumultuous home summer in English cricket with the men’s Test team losing to New Zealand leading to Ben Stokes’ retirement and Brendon McCullum’s sacking.

Plus the women’s team losing the T20 World Cup final to Australia and being thrashed by India in their historic Test at Lord’s.

And now there is yet another for England cricket enthusiasts to be outraged about.

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