Just Stop Oil Protest in London entered Lord's Test in Ashes on the first day on Wednesday (June 28). Two protestors invaded the pitch after the first over and it briefly disrupted play at the Mecca of Cricket. The protestors ran in from the grandstand of the stadium and approached the playing surface only to be denied by the players.
One of the invaders was literally carried away by England wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow off the field. The jam-packed crowd at Lord's enjoyed the moment even as David Warner and Ben Stokes joined hands to stop the other protestor from reaching the pitch. The video of the incident has gone viral on social media and Bairstow's actions are leaving the fans in splits.
Watch the Video here:
After the incident, the groundstaff soon swept up and blew off the powder paint that spilled on the outfield. Bairstow also ran off the field to wear new set of whites. The entire incident wasted six minutes of play as there was delay in starting the second over of the day. Just Stop Oil, a coalition of environmental action groups, have already disrupted a few high-profile sporting events before including Premier League football matches, the final of rugby union's Premiership and the World Snooker Championship.
Nevertheless, Australia openers David Warner and Usman Khawaja didn't deter with the incident as they stood strong in tough conditions and deny England an early wicket who opted to bowl first after winning the toss.
Australia (Playing XI): David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey(w), Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins(c), Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood
England (Playing XI): Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes(c), Jonny Bairstow(w), Stuart Broad, Ollie Robinson, Josh Tongue, James Anderson
