Ashes Test match between England and Australia disrupted by Just Stop Oil protest

England cricketer Jonny Bairstow carried a Just Stop Oil protester off the Lord’s pitch after the group disrupted play during the first day of the second Ashes test match at the cricket ground in London.

Two protesters ran on to the pitch and threw orange powder, before the England wicketkeeper – a former keen rugby league player – took matters into his own hands.

He ran over to one of the protesters and picked him up, escorting him off the field.

Another protester was stopped by security staff, and another in the stands.

Bairstow had to briefly leave the field to change his top, after it was covered in orange powder, and the match resumed when he returned.

The Metropolitan Police said three people were arrested following the incident and taken into custody.

Guy Lavender, chief executive of the Marylebone Cricket Club, which owns Lord’s, condemned the pitch incursion.

“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, not just here at Lord’s but around the country at other sporting venues,” he said.

Former Australia skipper Ricky Ponting, speaking in the Sky Sports studio, said he felt for the players after the hotly-anticipated match was halted so early in the battle.

“As a batter in the build-up you just want to get out there and under way. Delays are not ideal for anyone,” he said.

“The batters just need to put something like this out of their mind.”

Speaking on BBC’s Test Match Special, commentator Jonathan Agnew said: “Let’s hope this doesn’t happen again, let’s hope that’s the one attack on the Ashes this year.”

Just Stop Oil initially said it did not know who the protesters were but supported their actions, and later named Judit, a 69-year-old grandmother from Epsom, Surrey, as one of the protesters.

She was quoted as saying: “I have to take action for my seven beautiful grandchildren. I can’t bear to imagine the suffering that they will have to endure because of this government continuing to licence new oil, coal and gas, against all better judgment and expert advice.”

“At 11am, three Just Stop Oil supporters stormed the pitch at Lord’s Cricket Ground in a cloud of orange powder paint and disrupted the #Ashes2023 Second Test between England and Australia,” the group said in a statement on Twitter.

The group demanded the British government halt new fossil fuel projects in the UK – and urged Lord’s to make a statement demanding the same.

“Lord’s Cricket Ground boasts about being powered by 100% renewable energy, yet their principal partner is JP Morgan, the world’s worst fossil bank that contributed $317 billion in fossil fuel financing from 2016 to 2020.”

In a further statement on its website, the group called on cricket spectators to “get on the streets and demand action” from the government on climate change.

It said: “Cricket is an important part of our national heritage but how can we enjoy England vs Australia when much of the cricketing world is becoming unfit for humans to live in?”

In response to the protest, Energy Secretary Grant Shapps said: “I will never surrender our economy and security to these anarchist stunts.”