© Matthew Lewis (Freelance for Getty Images)

Cricket photocalls are for the most part dull events - sometimes the aftermath makes for better photos - but photographer Matthew Lewis caught a magical moment when Nottinghamshire lined up for their annual shoot before the 2022 county season. An unseasonal snow flurry turned the otherwise staid shot into a Christmas card - in March - and won Lewis the Wisden Photograph of the Year.

Though unseasonal weather is now pretty much part of the English summer experience, snow has been interrupting the County Championship for a while now. In the photo below, Paul Collingwood and Steve Harmison made a case for turning cricket into a winter sport when the opening day of the County Championship in April 1999 was snowed out.

Batters can't read a snow ball out the hand Owen Humphreys / © PA Photos/Getty Images

In 2008, Jeetan Patel came suitably prepared for New Zealand's summer tour of England - and possibly a bank heist.

The new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie is looking a bit underfunded Tom Shaw / © Getty Images

Ian Botham says the weather is no excuse to not mind your Ps and Qs.

No one's getting Beefy to spill the tea © Getty Images

In New Zealand, Super Smash games are BYOB - bring your own blanket.

"Come to the cricket, they said. It'll be fun, they said" Kerry Marshall / © Getty Images

Climate change means that the County Championship season is now snowbound on one end, soggy in the middle and an arid wasteland in late summer. Last year, England faced near-drought conditions in August, which turned cricket grounds into dust bowls.

How green is your alley: a groundsman in Kent prepares pitches for matches in July 2022 Gareth Fuller / © Getty Images

The subcontinent, of course, is no stranger to heat waves. But Indian summers pale in comparison to what Australia and Pakistan had to endure during their Test series Sharjah in 2002, when afternoon temperatures frequently touched 50°C. Andy Bichel had to be put on a drip after bowling a spell, Shoaib Akhtar writes in his book about blacking out after a couple of overs and Matthew Hayden said he took six months to recover from the series.

Desert for lunch: a thermometer clocks the temperature in Sharjah at a cool 48 after the second session in one of the two October 2002 Tests © Getty Images

You know how they say it takes sweat, blood and tears to make it big in cricket? At least some of that is literal.

Umar Akmal adds some much-needed moisture to the pitch during the Asia Cup in Dhaka in 2014 © AFP

While players are constantly being plied with drinks, ice-packs and cold towels, will no one think of the umpires?

Fall of an umpire: wake Asad Rauf when summer ends Duif du Toit / © Gallo Images/Getty Images

The dress code in the Caribbean is always beach-casual, even if you're a cameraman.

The sheet is on: a cameraperson works on his tan while on the job in Trinidad Matthew Ashton / © EMPICS/Getty Images

And no matter the temperature, Morne Morkel shows you the importance of accessorising correctly with your outfit.

No more Mr Ice Guy: Morne has a cool head on his shoulders © Gallo Images/Getty Images

Deepti Unni is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

 

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