Cricket has seen ball-tampering with bottle caps, sandpaper gates in Newlands, and bowlers roughing up the seam with their nails. But nobody, until last weekend, thought to fake a wicket with nothing more than a snap of the fingers. A village cricket match in the north of England has now done exactly that, and the fallout has turned an ordinary Division Two fixture into a story the whole cricketing world is talking about.
A Wicket That Wasn't
The match was between Saltburn Cricket Club's 2nd XI and Norton Cricket Club, played on Saturday, July 25, in the North Yorkshire and South Durham (NYSD) League. Nothing about the fixture suggested anything more dramatic than a Saturday afternoon of club cricket. Then Norton batter Noman Shabir shouldered arms, or tried to, as a delivery from Saltburn's Sam Morrison slid past his bat. There was no bat-ball contact visible in the footage. But at the exact instant the ball went past, a Saltburn fielder stationed at first slip clicked his fingers. Wicketkeeper Josh Bowes gloved the ball cleanly, the appeal went up, and the umpire, going purely by sound, raised his finger. Shabir was given out caught behind. He protested. Loudly. The umpire didn't budge.
