Pictures from fans: Send your pics to yourshots@cricinfo.com
Pictures from fans: Send your pics to yourshots@cricinfo.com
Shiva J Prakash: A group of techies playing cricket on a cold morning - Shot taken from mobile camera during my usual jog routine at Cubbon park, Bengaluru. In the background is Vijay Mallya's UB city.
Zia Imran: Goats at cow corner? - I took this picture of kids playing cricket in my village in Pakistan on a patch of land next to a citrus orchard. The patch had wheat grown on it and the kids took the time to level the ground for a makeshift pitch.
Sharjeel Khan: The hills have byes - There is never a bad time for a game of chair-wicket cricket, especially in the scenic Gorakh hill station in Sindh, Pakistan.
Abdul Hanan: Cricketing winters - Children playing cricket on the roof of a house in the foothills of Kashmir, in the dead of winter
Pankaj Zarekar: Sky, earth, cricket - While on a long ride early in the morning near Pune, my friends and I saw this at Mulshi Dam. The view was amazing, so we stopped by and watched the game. I did envy those lucky folks playing out there.
Arifuddin Ahmed: Fort + sea + cricket = Galle - A bunch of friends use the Galle Fort's walls as a backdrop for their cricket practice. Beyond the walls lies the Indian Ocean.
Morten Kattenhøj: Cricket in Ladakh - Boys play cricket at the Rizong Monastery in Ladakh, located approximately 3500m above sea level
Deepan Palguna: On a rocky pitch - Team Peace, a bunch of engineers from Chennai, could not pass up an opportunity to play cricket when driving along the Big Sur coast of California. Instead of "rough" on the pitch, there was a rock that caused a few balls and a pair of sandals to get swallowed up by the Pacific Ocean
Muhammad Kashif: Arabian days - A weekend starts with cricket in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Hassan Kausar: Can he bag a wicket? - An impromptu game between my son, who is bowling, and a kid who joined us on Bamburgh beach outside Bamburgh Castle, Northumberland, England. My camera bag was used as a wicket.
Ananthasubramanian: Altitude no problem - Ananth and his friends were on their way towards the Indus Zanskar Confluence at Ladakh, when they saw a bunch of boys playing cricket at 11,000 feet above sea level. Anantha was stunned, since he was sick and tiring quickly because of the early-morning trek in those conditions. But the boys playing the game didn't seem to have any problem.
Srinivasa Prasath: Monumental innings - Even history is a silent spectator when a game of cricket unfolds. Srinivasa didn't expect to see a game of cricket when he was visiting the Seven Tombs complex in Hyderabad. The selection of venue seemed strange, but the players had adapted the rules smartly to make effective use of the space.
Mudar Patherya: Cricket on the occasion of Eid - Mudar shot this picture at Victoria Memorial on the occasion of Eid ul Fitr in 2011. Even a couple of decades ago, the Pathans in Kolkata used to celebrate Eid with their traditional dancing, greeting fellow Pathans, and some kushti. Cricket seems to have become a part of the celebrations these days.
Richard Searle: When in Rome... - Richard stumbled upon this scene of cricket being played on the remains of the Circus Maximus while holidaying in Rome in 2012. It seemed like a natural use of the space considering the shape, and the raised pitch seemed to add some character to proceedings. In the background, one can see the remains of a Roman Bath and the Roman Forum. The Colosseum is about 800 meters away from this scene. A sport invented and popularised by the English, being played by the descendants of former subjects of the empire on the remains of the world's greatest ancient empire in a country that is virtual non-entity in the sport. Cricket is truly a global game.
Mudar Patherya: Corridor of uncertainty - Mudar captured this amazing picture in January 1992 at the Gobindopur Bustee, around 300 metres from the posh southern avenue in Kolkata. When the suburban train rolls in from Sealdah en route to Budge Budge, the 'stump' is flattened, the players take a break, wait for the train to pass, return to erect the stump and continue to finish the over.
Umesh Desai: The twelfth man cometh - Umesh took this picture of the twelfth man of the Laguna Gully Cricket Club as he adjusted his sun hat. He went on to effect a crucial run out with a flat and accurate throw, and his team eventually defeated the KCC Dragons in the Saturday Cup match in Kowloon, Hong Kong.
Anukrati Omar: "... And a fielder gets under it" - Anukrati shot this picture at Colva Beach in Goa, India. The picture catches the players in a moment of animation, with the ball suspended mid-air. In Anukrati's own words: "Why can't we spare a few moments from our busy lives and unleash that careless child that loves this game, and still lives somewhere within us? All it needs is a bat, ball and some friends." For the record, the catch was eventually dropped.
Kishore Keerthi: Cricket on an up and down wicket - Cricket played on one of the milky white sand beaches in Pensacola, Florida.
Sameer Kumar Mohanty: Fun minus the sun - > I work in a software company, and here I am playing with my colleagues during a team outing in a resort in Bangalore.
Danysh Qureshi: That winning feeling - An enthusiastic child in Kashmir, who scored 23 runs for his team and won them the match.
Zishan Abbasi: Reaching high on Mukshpuri top, Pakistan - Some relaxed fielders out there.
Ikram ul Ahad: Fog doesn't stop play - Children playing in chilly Chitral, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, in December, when temperatures hover between -5C and 5C.
Pramod KR: Corridor cricket - 2 players per team; 2 innings each (Test match); the wooden stick is the wicket; if the ball passes the fielder, it's 1; if the ball touches the gate, it's 4; two straight misses means out; if the ball is hit outside the compound, it's out (so we don't damage a window/car); if the ball is hit beyond the step (where the tricycle is), it's out; one-pitch catch to the fielder/bowler is out.
Mazhar Nasim Abbasi: Have bat, will swing - When you are not swinging it, you can swing on it with this home-made bat. Spotted in Saleg, a village near Murree in the north of Pakistan.
Ravikiran: And that's stumps - > I took this photo at a small village on the banks of the Gangavalli River in Karnataka, India. These stumps were left in place from the previous day, and cows were grazing on the outfield. The coconut trees and greenery provided a picturesque backdrop, though I suspect they didn't do a great job as a sight-screen.
Atirav Kapur: Cricket, fort-side - Schoolchildren enjoy a mix of cricket and culture at the Kumbhalgarh Fort, in Rajasthan
Saif ur Rahman Khan: Goats in the house - Cricket doesn't stop in the KDA cricket ground in North Nazimabad, Karachi, even if there are four-legged visitors at third man.
Swati Kamdar: High up on the hills - Weekend cricket games are a normal sight in India. Swati, a product manager at ESPNcricinfo, clicked this picture on a Sunday morning while driving up a hill in Wayanad, Kerala. The game in progress is a pretty serious affair as can be seen from the presence of a leg umpire, and the number of spectators.
Arifuddin Ahmed: Taking guard at sunset - Arifuddin was at the Gokarna beach in Karnataka in India to enjoy the sunset when this photo-op presented itself. The batsman was silhouetted against the setting sun, waiting attentively to pull the ball into the surf. A moment later, the shot was played and a fielder ran out to save the ball from the receding waves at deep midwicket.
P Krishnakumar: Distance, and elevation - Krishnakumar was on his way from Manali to Leh when he chanced upon this scene in June 2009. Indian army men from a post near the Bara-lacha pass in Lahaul, Himachal Pradesh, were in the middle of an extremely competitive game of cricket at 16,000 feet above sea level when he walked into the 'ground' to click a picture much to their consternation. When they finally permitted Krishnakumar to take a photograph, it was only after both sides agreed that the ball would not count. Unfortunately for the bowling side, the batsman was caught and bowled off this very ball.
Shashanka Nanda: Desert games games - Shashanka is a freelance communications consultant who has seen the extremes - in the past he has directed films, as well as stood waist-deep in a garbage dump for a living. He clicked this rare picture of schoolkids playing cricket in extreme weather conditions when he was travelling through the Belva village in Jodhpur, Rajasthan. The sun and the heat had virtually no impact on their enthusiasm. All they wanted was a game and even a sandy pitch would do. These children walk nearly 10 km one way everyday to reach their school, but there's always time to stop and play some cricket.
Robert Franklin: The perils of close-in fielding - The look on silly point's face says it all. Robert took this picture during a club match between South Wilts CC and Bashley Rydal CC. Eddie Abel of the South Wilts backed away and played a cut shot that had the close-in fielder taking evasive action.
Sudan Dhakal: Eyes on the ball - Sudan works as a network consultant for enterprises in Nepal. He took this snap in May 2011 while travelling in the Dolakha district, around 130 km from Kathmandu. He was out on his morning walk near the Dolakha Bhimeshwor temple when he chanced upon a group of youngsters playing. There wasn't much space, the accompaniments were quite primitive, and the rules were 'free style', but the event had a name - 'Dolakha Premier League'.
High elbow, still head - Bryan gives young Liam a helping hand as he takes strike for the first time. An interesting choice of hats adds to the colour.
Richard Brooksbank: Ode to a Grecian pitch - A game in Corfu, Greece. This ground has hosted cricket since 1823, when the Royal Navy played the Garrison. This game was between Jo'burg CC from South Africa and N Vatsparov from Bulgaria, during an international school-teams' tournament hosted by the Hellenic Cricket Federation.
Muhammad Javed: Hitting the big stage - On holiday in Tunisia, we went to El Jem Colosseum. We saw that they have a grid in the middle of the structure, which resembles a cricket pitch. I found a cardboard box and made a bat, and my brother and I then pretended to be playing cricket on this grand stage.
Agil Francis: An Irish summer's afternoon - > A summer's day at Mount Juliet, in the heart of Thomastown, Ireland. One of most amazing cricket pitches, with a lot of greenery around.
Utpal Kumar Mondal: A day in the paddy fields - While travelling in Bogra, Bangladesh, this winter, I found some boys playing cricket on a ground which was a paddy field a few days earlier. It is not easy to play cricket on this type of hard, uneven ground, but it's all about passion for the game in these parts.
Manasa Ramakrishnan: Heights of cricket - A boy plays a picture-perfect drive 13,000 feet above sea level, at a village near Yumthang Valley in North Sikkim
Faraz Jafri: Channelling my inner Jonty - A picture of me clicked by my younger brother, Ali Jafri, from a mobile camera, during a routine fielding drill on our house's lawn in Lahore. This shot depicts effort and commitment and, according to a friend of mine, such commitment should be declared forbidden.
Manikanta Nagaraju Pamarthi: Village cricket at sundown - I took this photo in my village, in Andhra Pradesh, India. Cricket games in the evening, on the empty fields, is a common sight here
Zeeshan Siddiqui: Cricket's silver linings - A friendly weekend T20 in Melbourne makes for a pretty picture, and plenty of fun for some friends from the subcontinent
David Goodwin: Overcast conditions - David is the Secretary of the Mid Year Cricket Association. They play in the off-season during Australia's winter. The people who play winter cricket are all the best kind of cricket tragics who hate the break between summer seasons. Last month they almost had to call the round off due to the weather, but went ahead and got in a full day's play. As you can see from the photo, there were some ominous clouds, but in the end blue skies prevailed.
Kashif Ashraf: Horses for courses - Kashif, a computer graphics designer in Pakistan, came upon this scene at the perfect moment. The setting sun forms the perfect backdrop, while the horse and the cart complete a striking if unusual setting even as the batsman swings hard and straight.
K Ranganathan: The original ice-men - Ranganathan and his IT professional friends work in Seattle. They always carry a bat and a ball along with them, in the look out for opportunities to play. This picture captures a mesmerizing panoramic view of almost all the Pacific mountains from the Hurricane Ridge. The flat bed of snow was a perfect invitation for a game. A couple of minutes in, though, the rules were rewritten in accordance to the conditions; for starters, bowlers weren't allowed to pitch the ball.
Ganesh Shankar: A Victor Trumper lookalike - Ganesh is a freelance photographer in Bangalore. He chanced upon this scene when he was at the Juhu beach in Mumbai. The picture has a striking resemblance to the legendary image of Victor Trumper dancing down the pitch, and the black-and-white theme only adds to the similarity. The setting sun blazes in the background, casting a shadow of the batsman even as he's poised to swing.
Dipjyoti Banik: Give it some air - Dipjyoti took this picture in a ground close to the famous Eden Gardens in Kolkata. The floodlights of the stadium are clearly visible. The children playing aren't from the most privileged background, but that doesn't prevent them from having a ball. The bowler tosses it up generously as if to say that one should never back down from dreaming big.
Justin George: Shadow practice - Justin was drawn by this left-hand batsman, a rare sight in Chennai's street cricket scene. His confident strokes and a seemingly solid technique inspired Justin to click a bird's eye-view picture from his balcony. The harshness of the sun gave him a rich shadow and enhanced the composition of the image. The white star pattern seen on the left of the picture is a kolam - a popular form of religious floor art in South India done using rice flour or chalk powder
Natasha Brodie: Two boys, a bat and a beach - Natasha took this picture of her brothers late in the afternoon on 27th July 2007 at Prestatyn Beach in Wales. The family used to holiday at Prestatyn every year between 2001 and 2008. The younger one is visibly unhappy because he wanted to bat first. Now 11, he's the first with the ball in his hand at his local cricket club. Both have played their cricket at Prestwich Cricket Club in Lancashire for a few years. Natasha regularly watches England play at grounds around the country and is a member at Lancashire County Cricket Club. Her interest in photography has been influenced by sport, and she carries her camera where ever she goes, including cricket games. She is hoping to start a photography course in college in September.
Saqlain: A mountain of runs - This picture was taken in May 1996, in the Swat valley, Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan. Saqlain was visiting the area in a jeep when he saw a group of children playing cricket with a broken bat, on a narrow pathway, overseen by the mighty Himalayas. Saqlain is a cricket development executive in Hong Kong, who is also trained as a coach and as an umpire.