Arjun Singh’s photo of Sanju Samson, Shimron Hetmyer and Dhruv Jurel all competing to take a catch during an Indian Premier League match between the Rajasthan Royals and Gujurat Titans is today announced as the winner of the Wisden Photograph of the Year competition by an expert panel.

Chris Smith, chair of the expert panel of judges and former chief sports photographer of The Sunday Times, said: “This terrific photo brings three players together with one intent: all are totally focused on making the catch. Good photographs often create debate. You wonder if one of them will successfully make the catch. In the event it was none of them! But it scores on another level, as the figures compose so well in what is a deservedly winning photograph.”

Patrick Eagar, also on the panel, said: “One player diving is fairly usual, two make a good photograph, but three! It’s a nice composition and tells an interesting tale. The three Rajasthan players, wicketkeeper, square leg and cover, managed to converge on a top edge from Saha in the first over of 2 the match. Their collision knocked the ball further down the pitch where the bowler, Trent Boult, who is out of the photograph, caught the ball.”

The winner, Arjun Singh, said: “Winning this award from an organisation I admire so much makes me very happy. The best images are the ones that retain their strength and impact over the years, regardless of the number of times they are viewed. I am very proud and grateful that the expert judges chose my photo from so many outstanding images which were entered for the competition.” Singh has been an official photographer for the IPL and the Indian cricket team since 2011. He was working for Sportzpics when he took the photo.

The runners-up are:

▪ Samiran Chakraborty’s black-and-white image of children playing cricket next to the Turag River in Katasur area of Mohammadpur, Dhaka, Bangladesh on April 16th.

▪ Stu Forster’s photo of the Welsh Fire bowler Claire Nicholas taking a one-handed return catch to dismiss Northern Superchargers batter Phoebe Litchfield during a match in The Hundred at Headingley on August 22nd.

The winning entries feature in the 2024 edition of Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack – published on April 18th 2024. They, plus eight other shortlisted entries, are on display for 12 months at The Kia Oval in London.

The 2024 competition attracted almost 500 entries from around the world. In addition to Chris Smith, the judges were the acclaimed cricket photographer Patrick Eagar, former art director of The Cricketer Nigel Davies, and former MCC filming and photography manager Clare Adams.

Notes to editors:

The winning image, the two runners-up and the eight shortlisted images are all available for hi-res download from: https://photos.app.goo.gl/KZCM6qjLxU9zQ6fCA

(All credit and caption details can also be found in this folder. All images were taken in 2023.)

These images can be reproduced for editorial purposes subject to being clearly captioned as the winning image (or runner-up, as applicable) in the Wisden Cricket Photograph of the Year 2023 competition.

CREDIT DETAILS FOR THE WINNING IMAGE AND THE TWO RUNNERS-UP:

Winner: Winner: Arjun Singh (Freelance for Sportzpics)
Sanju Samson, Shimron Hetmyer and Dhruv Jurel of Rajasthan Royals collide as they attempt to catch Gujarat Titans’ batter Wriddhiman Saha during the Indian Premier League match at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad, on April 16.

Runner-up: Samiran Chakraborty (Amateur)
The name of this river is Turag. It is in Katasur area of Mohammadpur, Dhaka, in Bangladesh. As a result of urbanization, children’s playgrounds are decreasing in Bangladesh. During the winter season, the water level of the river drops, making it a place for children and teenagers to play cricket during the school holidays. This place sinks under the river during monsoons.

Runner-up: Stu Forster (Getty Images)
Welsh Fire bowler Claire Nicholas takes a one-handed return catch to dismiss Northern Superchargers batter Phoebe Litchfield during a match in The Hundred at Headingley, Leeds, on August 22.

For further information and press enquiries about the Wisden Photograph of the Year competition, or the soon to be published Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack 2024, please contact Katherine Macpherson, Bloomsbury Publishing │ Katherine.macpherson@bloomsbury.com