Lord's weather vane hit for 6

London - After England's cricketers were left battered and bruised during a dismal World Cup campaign, another symbol of the English game took a beating on Monday when the famous Father Time weather vane at Lord's was buffeted by high winds.

The vane, situated above the Lord's Mound Stand clock, features a steel figure of an elderly man with a scythe on his back putting a bail on some stumps, and is synonymous with cricket in England.

But like the country's national team, who tamely bowed out of the World Cup at the group stages, Father Time encountered some unexpectedly fierce turbulence and was left flat on his back by gales in north London over the weekend.