Cricket World Responds With #putoutyourbats

Cricket fans and players have been using their bats to pay tribute to Australian cricketer Phillip Hughes, who died on Thursday, two days after being struck in the neck during a domestic match in Australia.

The 25-year-old, who also played for Hampshire, Middlesex and Worcestershire, was hit by a delivery from bowler Sean Abbott.

Twitter users have started posting photographs using the hashtags #putoutyourbats and #putyourbatout.

Cricket Australia chief James Sutherland said: ‘People are putting bats in their back yard and in their front window. We thank them for that.’

Tributes have poured in from all over the world, including current and former players such as Adam Gilchrist, Jonathan Trott and Michael Vaughan, as well as teams and governing bodies such as the Australian rugby side and the ECB. 

Cricket Australia has announced that it will conduct an immediate investigation into player safety after Phillip Hughes’s death.

‘It’s a freak incident, but one freak incident is one too many,’ added Sutherland.