Ashes 2023: Protesters briefly disrupt play during 2nd Eng vs Aus Test

LONDON: A group of protesters from the 'Just Stop Oil' activist group on Wednesday briefly interrupted the proceedings on the first morning of the second Ashes 2023 Test between England and Australia at Lord's.

Ahead of the second over of the match, protestors wearing 'Just Stop Oil' t-shirts and holding bags of orange powder, ran onto the ground but neither made it onto the playing strip.

While captain Ben Stokes stopped one protestor and a steward took care of another protestor, England wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow sprung into action by lifting and carrying one protestor off the field, all by himself.

The ground staff then arrived to sweep and remove the orange powder paint which had spilled on the outfield. Bairstow, meanwhile, ran to the dressing room to change his white shirt and wicket-keeping gloves, which was made dirty by orange powder paint. In all, play was delayed for nearly six minutes before action resumed.

It is the second time in the recent few months that the England team have been interrupted by a 'Just Stop Oil' protest. On day one of the one-off Test against Ireland at Lord's, their team bus suffered a brief halt after leaving the hotel for Lord's by the protestors for five minutes.

Fearing disruption, international matches in England have prepared an extra pitch in case the original one is caused damage by the Just Stop Oil protestors, who have caused interruptions in sports events in the country this year.

Previously, two members of the Just Stop Oil campaign had invaded the pitch of the Premiership Rugby final at Twickenham, spraying orange paint power, before being taken away by staff and players.

A similar incident led by the climate change group had occurred during the World Snooker Championships in April.