Friday 28 November 2014 19:55, UK
Cricketers across the planet are paying tribute to Phillip Hughes by joining a #putoutyourbats campaign on social media website Twitter.
The movement began spontaneously a day after the tragic death of Australia Test batsman Hughes, who passed away at the age of just 25, two days after he was struck by a bouncer during a Sheffield Shield match.
The cricket world is in mourning for the dashing left-handed batsman and Paul Taylor, a cricket supporter from Sydney, captured the mood when he posted a picture of his bat with a cap on the handle, leant against a wall.
The picture was accompanied by the words: "Fans put their bats out in tribute to Australian cricket star Phillip Hughes following his tragic death aged 25".
The simple scene of a bat ready for a day’s play has resonated with cricketers of all standards across the world and the sport has united to pay their respects, using the hashtag putoutyourbats.
Former England spinner Graeme Swann tweeted a photo of a bat he used to make 63 not out against West Indies in 2010, the score Hughes had made when he suffered his ultimately life-ending injury.
Ex-England captain Michael Vaughan and West Indies great Viv Richards are among the other world-renowned players to join the campaign and a single bat was rested outside Sydney Cricket Ground, where Hughes played his final match.
The New Zealand Test team placed all 11 of their bats outside their dressing room, caps on handles, ahead of the resumption of their Test match against Pakistan in Sharjah.
And Cricket Australia placed a total of 63 bats in the windows of its offices in Melbourne, while Google Australia used a graphic of a bat resting against a wall on its homepage.
