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Wisden – MCC Cricket Photo of the Year

Posted: 7 November 2019

The Wisden – MCC Cricket Photograph of the Year 2019 is now CLOSED.

Launched in 2010, the contest is open to all photographers, amateur or professional, from across the world.

It remains free to enter, with the only stipulation that entries must have a cricketing theme and have been taken during the 2019 calendar year.

The competition is part of MCC’s drive to promote and sustain cricket in all of its forms in all corners of the globe, from an international match played in front of thousands, to a game between children played on the streets.

The top three images in the 2019 competition will appear as the first three colour photographs in the 2020 edition of Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack. The winner will receive £2,000, the two runners-up £1,000 and a further eight shortlisted entries will each receive £250.

All eleven shortlisted entries will be put on display at Lord’s, and will be seen by tens of thousands of visitors to the Home of Cricket.

Entries for 2019 are now closed.

 

Previous Winners

Hillyard, of News Corp Australia, captured Sydney Sixers’ Moises Henriques holding on to an outstanding catch to dismiss Melbourne Stars’ Nick Larkin at the Sydney Cricket Ground in December.

Hillyard, of News Corp Australia, captured Sydney Sixers’ Moises Henriques holding on to an outstanding catch to dismiss Melbourne Stars’ Nick Larkin at the Sydney Cricket Ground in December.

Stu Forster of Getty Images took the winning photo of the 2017 competition which was a shot of Katherine Brunt taking a selfie with the rest of the England side, having defeated India in thrilling fashion in the 2017 Women's Cricket World Cup Final at Lord's.

The winner of the 2016 competition was announced on Sunday 3 April 2017 as Saqib Majeed, for his image of a boys’ cricket game in the Mughal gardens of Srinagar.


The winner of the 2015 competition was announced on Friday 8 April 2016 as Robert Cianfone, for his image of Craig Simmons breaking his bat during the Big Bash League.

The winner of the 2014 competition was announced on Wednesday 8 April 2015 as Matthew Lewis, for his image of West Indies' Dwayne Bravo taking a superb diving catch.

The winner of the 2013 competition was announced on Wednesday 9 April 2014 as Atul Kamble, for his stunning image of Sachin Tendulkar before the Indian legend's final Test innings.

Judges

The winning images for 2018 will be selected by a panel of independent expert judges appointed by Wisden and MCC, and headed by Chris Smith. 
 

Chairman of the Panel

Chris Smith has been Chief Sports Photographer for various newspapers, including The Sunday Times for over 30 years. During this time he has covered a diverse range of major sports such as rugby, football, horse racing, athletics, sailing and boxing, as well as cricket. Chris has been British Sports Photographer of the Year four times, and winner of the Sports Picture of the Year award twice.

Judges

Patrick Eagar is widely recognised as the doyen of cricket photography, having covered the sport for several decades. He announced his retirement at the conclusion of the 2011 season. During his professional career, he photographed 325 Test matches across the globe and has published thirteen books.

Claire Taylor is a former international cricketer who represented England in fifteen Test Matches, 126 One-Day Internationals and 27 T20 Internationals in a fourteen-year career. She received an MBE for her achievements in cricket and was the first women to be named one of Wisden's five Cricketers of the Year. Her unbeaten 156 against India in 2006 currently stands as the highest ODI score at Lord's.

Nigel Davies was designer and art director of Wisden Cricket Monthly, The Wisden Cricketer and The Cricketer between 1997 and 2015. Since then, he has worked as a freelance designer on a number of contract magazine publications covering a broad range of subjects, such as HR, banking, the automotive industry, gardening and sports lifestyle. Nigel also curates and researches the back catalogues of esteemed sports photographers.

Martin Devereux is Head of Projects and Planning at the Postal Museum, and has been responsible for developing their digitisation and photography service. A keen photographer himself, Martin has spent fourteen years cataloguing and digitising historic collections - including photographs, paintings, artworks and manuscript material.