The 2015 Wisden-MCC Cricket Photograph of the Year competition is now open for entries.
The contest is open to both amateur and professional photographers and the top eleven images will be displayed at Lord’s where they will be seen by thousands of visitors to the Home of Cricket.
A top prize of £2,000 will be awarded to the winner and the selected runners-up will also win £1,000. The top three images will appear as the first three colour photographs in the 2016 edition of Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack.
The other eight shortlisted entries will each receive £250. All prizes are courtesy of competition partners J.P. Morgan.
The shortlist, runners-up and eventual winner 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. Award-winning sports photographer Bob Thomas and former art director of The Cricketer magazine, Nigel Davies, are also on the panel along with music photographer Kevin Cummins who will judge for the first time.
Last year’s competition attracted over 400 entries from all over the world with amateur and professional photographers alike capturing a huge range of cricketing moments, ranging from elite international action to children playing cricket at a rubbish dump in Bangladesh.
The winner was Getty Images photographer Matthew Lewis who captured West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo taking a diving catch in the 2014 ICC World Twenty20 in Bangladesh
Chris Smith, who chaired the judging panel, said: “The standard of photographs we get in this competition improves year on year. This year saw an exciting Cricket World Cup, a pulsating Ashes series and some fantastic grass roots cricket across the globe – all of which will have produced some fantastic images I’m sure. This competition is an excellent chance for amateur photographers to gain recognition for their work and I would encourage anyone with a love for cricket and photography to send in their best shots.”
Adam Chadwick, MCC’s Curator of Collections, said: “There are so many incentives for photographers to enter this competition, not least the chance to have their work displayed at the Home of Cricket – a feature which is always very popular on the Lord’s Tour. I would also like to thank J.P. Morgan for continuing to support the competition so generously. The year in cricket has been as exciting and colourful as ever so I’m looking forward to seeing the entries.”
Photographers can submit up to three images and there is no fee for entering. The closing date for entries is midnight on Sunday January 2016 and photographers can enter the competition via the Lord’s by CLICKING HERE. Winners will be announced in April 2016.
