When the form is the function
Deepti Unni  |  January 22, 2026
Lights, camera, inaction: a moment of stillness for Athapaththu and Bezuidenhout
© Getty Images
What makes silhouettes so evocative? Perhaps it’s that the primary function of photographs is to show – a moment, an expression, a perspective, arrested motion. Silhouettes take that away, leaving the viewer to read the photograph from the interplay of light and shadow alone. On the cricket field, it strips away logos, sponsors, advertisements, even identity, leaving just the shape of stillness – Chamari Athapaththu and Bernadine Bezuidenhout between balls in the photo above – or motion, like Shadab Khan in his delivery stride in the nets, below.
Who bowls there: Shadab Khan navigates the dark net
Jewel Samad / © AFP/Getty Images
In some cases, the silhouette is the tell: think the outline of Jasprit Bumrah in the moment before he delivers the ball. But what about when they’re not moving? Can you tell from the shape of the player pont-ering? It can be t-ricky.
Bet you can’t tell who this is. Go on, take a punt
© Getty Images
A good silhouette, like good fielding, is all about placement, placement, placement. Ireland’s Ben Calitz positions himself perfectly to catch the sun.
Total eclipse of the art: what they mean when they say there’s a star inside everyone
© Sportsfile via Getty Images
One of sports photographers’ favourite angles is the bug’s-eye view, capturing the hidden secrets of group huddles, getting a chin-first view of group dynamics. The photo below captures young cricketers – former child soldiers in Sri Lanka – learning to stretch at a cricket camp.
Shape of youth: it’s not a stretch to say cricket is child’s play
Lakruwan Wanniarachchi / © AFP/Getty Images
You can feel the mood of the photo below before you even get a good look at it – when the day’s play is done and you have to pack up your kit and trudge home, where homework and the real world await. But tomorrow is another day to fight over who gets to bat first.
Don’t let the sun go down on me: children lug their bags home along Mumbai’s Marine Drive after a long day of cricket
© Getty Images
Won’t someone think of the men who work in the shadows to bring you light? You’d better have a head for heights if you’re going to be a lights technician. Breathtaking sunsets are the bonus.
Orange you glad it’s not you: techs set up the lighting rig for the Melbourne Commonwealth Games at the MCG in 2006
© Getty Images
If you’re a gig worker in the subcontinent, a death wish is a necessary life skill. Below, workers get the Mahinda Rajapaksa stadium in Hambantota ready for the 2011 ODI World Cup. Safety? What’s that?
Scaffolders climb the corporeal ladder
© Getty Images
At Australia’s many grounds, the drama on the field often has to compete with the drama in the sky – sample this sunset at Adelaide Oval. Can you blame photographers for getting distracted when the evening looks like this?
Skyfall: it’s a clouded house at the BBL in Cairns
© Getty Images
Brave photographers take photos like these so you don’t have to look directly at the sun. You can look at your phone instead.
In the circle of light, it’s the reel of fortune
© ICC/Getty Images
The weathervane at Chelmsford has a few lessons for batters: watch your shape, protect your outside edge, shadow-bat in the after hours, keep changing ends.
Vane the wind blows, play against it
Alex Davidson / © Getty Images
Deepti Unni is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo
© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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