Gary Lineker has joked that England should bring the Just Stop Oil protestor back out to bowl after a disappointing first day of the Second Ashes Test at Lord's.
Ben Stokes' side won the toss and decided to bowl first with favourable conditions, but completely wasted an ideal start as the Aussies dominated with the bat. Australia raced to 190-2 before tea with Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne looking in tip-top condition.
Although Ollie Robinson removed Labuscagne for 47, Travis Head has since come in and done superbly as he and Smith formed a brilliant fourth wicket partnership heading into close. But as England continued to struggled mid-way through the second session, Lineker laughed about the protest at the start of the day.
Three Just Stop Oil protestors were arrested by the Metropolitan Police after the activists ran onto the field at Lord's and attempted to spread orange powder across the pitch. England wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow picked up one of the protesters and carried him towards the boundary, while captain Stokes stopped another.
Lineker jumped in with the fun and tweeted: "Can he bowl please?" This came as Kevin Pietersen hammered England for their approach and style on the opening day.
"It’s just not good enough, it really isn’t," he said on commentary Sky Sports during the match. These guys are expected to bowl Australia out today and it’s just getting sloppy. Not enough balls in the right area. And the speeds haven’t been up.
"(Ollie) Robinson, in his first couple of spells, was bowling at 78 miles an hour and David Warner was sweeping him. It all just looks a little bit too easy here for Australia."
He added: "Not a lot has caught my eye from an English perspective, it has been shambolic. Absolutely shambolic. You have overhead conditions, you have a wicket that suits your bowlers and you have bowlers running in at 78, 79mph. Now it is one thing to have, walking here and swanning around and saying 'hey this is a wonderful team to play in, we are creating the best environment'.
"But this is not Ashes cricket. I've played Ashes cricket, I've played 13 Test matches against Australia. The Australians were out here to bat before the English bowlers. The English bowlers this morning should have been on those stairs saying 'we want to bowl at Australia, we are desperate to bowl at Australia'."
