The “fortress” did not remain silent. Instead, in a fitting tribute to a “funny, positive” man whose tragically early death has touched fans of all sports and from all nations, Twickenham, the home of English rugby, marked the passing of Australian cricketer Phillip Hughes with an emotional minute’s applause that was beamed around the world.
The 82,000-strong crowd attending Saturday’s England-Australia Test vigorously celebrated the life of the 25-year-old, who died on Thursday after being hit by a bouncer earlier in the week while batting for South Australia against New South Wales in Sydney.
As well as the mass round of applause from the capacity crowd, a picture of Hughes was displayed on the giant screens at Twickenham.
The England team, led by captain Chris Robshaw, walked on to the pitch beside two cricket bats and a toy Wallaby mascot left in tribute to the batsman whom his family and fellow players said was “much loved” and whom his friend, England batsman Nick Compton, described as a “cheeky, funny, positive guy”. One of the bats bore the words “RIP PH 63 no” a reference to Hughes’s score – 63 not out – at the time of his accident.
The minute’s applause came at the end of a poignant few days in which Hughes’s death was marked around the world, with Elton John using a performance to dedicate a song to the player and the man who bowled the bouncer, 22-year-old Sean Abbott.
A #putoutyourbats social media campaign honouring Hughes in which people put cricket bats on display outside their homes has sparked a huge global response.
