Jonny Bairstow drags Just Stop Oil activist off Ashes pitch as powder thrown
England wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow took it upon himself to tug a Just Stop Oil activist off the pitch at Lord’s throughout the opening levels of the second Ashes Test on Tuesday morning. The hosts went into the match trying to make a powerful begin after Australia drew first blood at Edgbaston final week, though they have been pressured into an early delay when two protestors evaded safety and stormed the pitch.
One of the activists sprinted in the direction of the wicket and threw orange powder throughout the sector of play earlier than they have been tackled by safety, who wasted no time in chasing them down. The different was shortly apprehended by Bairstow after throwing orange powder too, with the England star selecting them up and hauling them over the boundary to be handled by stewards and police.
A short delay adopted as floor employees introduced out a leaf blower to eliminate the orange powder on the grass, whereas Bairstow returned to the dressing room to alter his gear earlier than rising again onto the sector. The incident occurred simply as Stuart Broad was getting ready to bowl England’s second over of the day after Jimmy Anderson had taken the brand new ball for the primary over.
Loud boos rang out round Lord’s because the protestors initially made their approach onto the sector, though they was cheers when Bairstow determined to take issues into his personal fingers. Several gamers from each groups additionally noticed the humorous aspect, with the match ultimately resuming after a stoppage of only a few minutes.
It was later revealed that three individuals had been arrested, with a spokesperson for the Marylebone Cricket Club telling Sky News: “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 incident got here after Guy Lavender, chief govt of the Marylebone Cricket Club, warned of the ‘important danger’ posed by activists trying to trigger disruption at distinguished sporting occasions. He additionally revealed that preventative measures are being taken by these chargeable for mitigating the specter of protests in a bid to cease the incidents from going down.
“It’s just a misery with the disruption to major sporting events and people’s way of life,” mentioned Lavender. “All we can do is to continue to prepare for disruption as any sensible ground can do and we have been planning for possible protests for quite a while so we will do our best.
“You can minimise these dangers however at a sports activities floor until you may have a barrier in entrance of spectators, it’s fairly tough. The stakes are fairly excessive and the implications are fairly excessive. If it damages the sq. that’s a problem and we’ve been attempting to mitigate for that.
“We have to hope that common sense prevails but the direction of travel suggests that disruption is a significant risk and we have been planning for it.”