#PutOutYourBats: Phillip Hughes, Forever Not Out

A simple hashtag #putoutyourbats is all it took. And what a collective worldwide outpouring of grief for Phillip Hughes it resulted in.

Hughes died yesterday, just days before his 26th birthday, having been struck by a Sean Abbott delivery two days earlier, during a Sheffield Shield match at the Sydney Cricket Ground in Australia.

Sydney father Paul Taylor started the trend when he posted a simple image of his cricket bat and blue Australian cap resting beside his front door.

"We've all played cricket in one way or other. We've all grown up with a bat and ball," he wrote.

"This is our way to connect and show our sadness."

Former Australian wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist posted a photograph of his kids' miniature bats lined up on the front gate along with a simple message: "From the Gilly kids xxxx".

Fellow former player Dean Jones put up his 1989 Ashes bat, while Tom Moody laid out a trio of bats in his commemoration with a simple message: "A life taken far too soon."

Australian cricketing greats were joined by their counterparts from the world over, along of course with cricket lovers across the globe.

From Vivian Richards to Mahela Jayawardene, from ICC to BCCI to the English, South African, Irish boards.

From Pakistan to the New Zealand Cricket teams.

What was specially moving was how Sean Abbott too remained in the thoughts of cricketers and cricket lovers.