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. He has scooped the £2,000 first prize for his image.
The two runners-up in the competition are former winner Mathew Lewis of Getty Images, and Syed Mahabubul Kader, an amateur photographer from Bangladesh.
Lewis took an image of Sri Lanka’s Nilakshi de Silva sharing her jubilation with Yashoda Mendis after taking a catch in the ICC Women’s World T20 game against Bangladesh in St Lucia, whilst Kader captured dockyard workers’ children playing cricket near the Buriganga River in Keraniganj, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
The two runners-up are awarded £1,000 each, and the eight shortlisted entrants all receive £250.
The top three entries feature in the 2019 edition of Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack, and all shortlisted images are displayed inside and outside the MCC Museum at Lord’s.
There were over 700 entries from around the globe, with endless different depictions of the game.
The competition was judged by a panel chaired by Chris Smith, the former Chief Sports Photographer of The Sunday Times, and this year he was joined, for the first time, by Diana Keen, Senior Production Manager at Sunset+Vine.
The rest of the panel comprised acclaimed cricket photographers Patrick Eagar and Adrian Murrell, music photographer Kevin Cummins and former art director of The Cricketer, Nigel Davies.
"I love the game of cricket, its people and the challenge of photographing it"
The winner, Phil Hillyard, said: “It’s such an honour to win the Wisden–MCC Photo of the Year for a sport I am so passionate about and have spent much of my career covering.
“I love the game of cricket, its people and the challenge of photographing it. I feel very privileged that my image will be on display at Lord’s, the Home of Cricket.
“A big thank you from me goes to Moises Henriques for taking such a great catch at the wonderful Sydney Cricket Ground.”
Lawrence Booth, Wisden Editor, said: “"The winner and the two runners-up in the Wisden-MCC competition always take pride of place in the Almanack's colour section, and they're as eye-catching as ever in this year's edition.
“The standard of entries remained exceptionally high, and everyone at Wisden is extremely grateful to MCC for administering the competition.”
Carlos Brathwaite, captain of Combined Campuses and Colleges Marooners, screams in joy after his team defeats Guyana Jaguars in the final of the West Indies Super 50 Cup.
28th October 2018 – Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados
Gloucestershire seamer Maddie Hughes bowls during a game against Wadduwa Central College. The Kalutara ground and surrounding village were built using funds raised by Surrey County Cricket Club after the 2004 tsunami.
9th February 2018 – Surrey Village Ground, Kalutara, Sri Lanka
Natasha Miles leads her Middlesex team through the Long Room past a portrait of WG Grace. Middlesex Women marked their first match on the main ground with a six-wicket victory over MCC.
24th April 2018 – Lord’s Cricket Ground, London, England
Virat Kohli enjoys the dismissal of Australia’s Pat Cummins during the last day of the Third Test. India won the match, and later the series.
30th December 2018 – Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne, Australia
Australia’s Glenn Maxwell is bowled by England’s Chris Jordan during the Vitality IT20 at Edgbaston.
27th June 2018 – Edgbaston Stadium, Birmingham, England
Members of the Ship Inn cricket team prepare for a match against Obolensky’s Heroes CC. The Ship, in the Scottish village of Elie, is the only pub in Britain to play all their home games on the beach.
3rd June 2018 – Elie, Fife, Scotland
In a city where playgrounds are few and far between, a Mumbai girl plays street cricket whilst her friend waits her turn to bat.
8th December 2018 – Mumbai, India
Stuart Burrows of Tamworth 1st XI clings on to a return catch from Bromsgrove’s Ashley Newfield whilst umpire Nic Cooper takes evasive action in a Birmingham & District Premier Cricket League match.
21st July 2018 – Tamworth Cricket Club, Tamworth, England