The 2017 Wisden–MCC Cricket Photograph of the Year competition is now open for entries.
• Top three entries will feature in 2017 Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack. Top eleven images will be on display at Lord’s in 2018.
• First prize is £2,000, runners-up win £1,000 and shortlisted entries £250.
• Last year’s winner Saqib Majeed captured a colourful image cricket game taking place in Srinagar
The contest was launched in 2010, and is open to all photographers, amateur or professional, from across the world. It remains free to enter, with the only stipulations that entries must have been taken during the year of the competition, and have a cricketing theme.
The competition mirrors MCC’s desire to promote cricket at all levels, and last year there were around 450 entries. These ranged from images of top international players to games of cricket in the back alleys of Bangladesh and India.
The 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. The winner will receive £2,000, and the two runners-up £1,000. The top three images will appear as the first three colour photographs in the 2018 edition of Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack.
The other eight shortlisted entries will each receive £250.
Indian freelance photographer Saqib Majeed won the 2016 Wisden–MCC Cricket Photograph of the Year competition for a colourful image of a cricket game in Srinagar.
Saqib, a photojournalist for the past eight years, came across the scene on a visit to Nishat Bagh – one of the most famous Mughal gardens.
Shooting from around 35 feet above the players, he was able to capture the entire game, as well as the stunning autumnal colours of the surrounding chinar trees.
The shortlist, runners-up and eventual winner of the 2017 competition will be chosen by a judging panel chaired by former Chief Sports Photographer of The Sunday Times, Chris Smith, and including world-renowned cricket photographer Patrick Eagar.
The 2 former art director of The Cricketer magazine, Nigel Davies, is also on the panel, along with music photographer Kevin Cummins. Alison Mitchell, the SJA Sports Broadcaster of the Year for 2013, and multi-award-winning cricket photographer Adrian Murrell complete the panel.
Chris Smith, who chairs the judging panel, said: “The standard of the imagery we see improves each year, and I would encourage anyone with an interest in cricket photography to send in their photos, whether they are professional or amateur. I’m really looking forward to seeing how the last twelve months of cricket has been captured on camera.”
Adam Chadwick, MCC’s Curator of Collections, said: “There are many different incentives for photographers to enter this competition, not least the chance to have their work displayed at the Home of Cricket – always a very popular feature of the Lord’s Tour. I’m sure we’ll see some great images both from the grass-roots game through to the international arena.”
Photographers can submit up to three images, and there is no fee for entering. The closing date for entries is 23:59 GMT on Friday 5th January 2018, and photographers can enter the competition via the Lord’s website at www.lords.org/photooftheyear. Winners will be announced in April 2018.