LONDON: The second Test of the ongoing Ashes Test between England and Australia witnessed a bizarre scene when climate protesters disrupted the match at the Lord’s, forcing a brief delay in action and players had to intervene by physically restraining the activists from damaging the pitch.
As per cricket.com.au, the two protesters, wearing ‘Just Stop Oil’ shirts, and holding bags of orange powder, ran to the pitch during the second over of the play on the first day. The environmental activists tried to spread orange powder on the field, but the players intervened.
England wicketkeeper-batter Jonny Bairstow charged at one of the activists and carried him all the way to the boundary rope from where ground security and police took over the protesters.
David Warner, who opened the batting for Australia, and England skipper Ben Stokes managed to intercept the second protester, who dumped some orange powder from his bag near the Nursey End’s run-up, which was way away from the pitch.
Bairstow had to leave the field and change his shirt as the first protester emptied his bag of powder while he was being carried on the shoulders of the English star.
A third protester also jumped the fence. She was lying down near the boundary rope, but security managed to remove her as well. The situation got under control after a brief delay. The ground staff used leaf blowers to clean the outfield.
Notably, England skipper Ben Stokes won the toss and opted to field first against Australia in the second match of the Ashes series 2023 at Lord’s in London on Wednesday. Australia will look to make their lead 2-0 while England will try to equalize the scoreline.
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
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. (ANI)