Just Stop Oil protestors on Wednesday morning threatened to wreak havoc on the Second Ashes Test at Lord’s, with only vital interventions from England and Australia players preventing damage to the playing surface.
England wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow tackled one of two demonstrators who made it onto the outfield, carrying the pitch-invader all the way to the boundary rope, while Ben Stokes and Australian batter David Warner crucially prevented the second from reaching the square with the group’s trademark orange dye before stewards intervened.
Three arrests have been made over the incident. A Marylebone Cricket Club statement read: “Their actions not only endanger themselves and those who work at the ground, but they have consistently shown complete disregard for the people who pay to attend events”
The invasion brought a delay after just one over of play, but a swift clean-up effort from ground staff saw the game resume within minutes once Bairstow had returned to the dressing room for a change of gloves.
A brief delay at Lord's due to protestors invading the pitch, but they're swiftly dealt with - with Jonny Bairstow helping remove one of them from the field. pic.twitter.com/xkp315Y9I2
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) June 28, 2023
Just Stop Oil have targeted a number of sporting events in recent months, including rugby’s Premiership final at Twickenham and snooker’s World Championship at The Crucible, while England’s team bus was caught behind a “go-slow” protest en route to Lord’s for their Test against Ireland at the start of the month.
The incident marked a dramatic start to England’s quest to level the series following last week’s narrow two-wicket defeat in Birmingham, with Stokes’s side looking to become the first since Michael Vaughan’s in 2005 to come from behind to claim the Urn.
With the Lord’s pitch notably greener than its lifeless Edgbaston counterpart and the clouds in, Stokes won the toss and, unsurprisingly, put Australia in to bat having selected an all-seam attack for the first time during his captaincy.
In helpful conditions, James Anderson and Stuart Broad delivered a testing new-ball spell but the closest England came to an early breakthrough was an Usman Khawaja edge that did not quite carry to Joe Root at slip and Australia’s openers battled through nine overs unscathed for 20 runs before light drizzle forced the players off.
The tourists, meanwhile, made one change to their side from Edgbaston, recalling left-arm seamer Mitchell Starc to the attack. Starc began the 2019 Ashes on the bench and earlier this week joked he had become used to being left out on these tours, but has had to wait only until the Second Test to enter the fray this time around, having got the nod over Scott Boland, who was expensive in the series-opener.
“[Starc brings] a bit of variety,” Australia captain Pat Cummins said of his decision. “We were happy with how Scotty’s been going but he’s unfortunately the one to miss out this week and it’s exciting to have someone of Starc’s class back in.”
