Ashes 2023: Dramatic scenes at Lord's after Bairstow drags protestor off pitch; Watch

Jonny Bairstow carries a protestor off the pitch (Pic: AP)

Threatening to wreak havoc on the second Ashes 2023 test match between England and Australia on Wednesday, two protestors from the 'Just Stop Oil' group ran onto the field at Lord's and briefly disrupted play about five minutes after the start of the match.

The environmental activists tried to spread orange powder on the field, however, England and Australia players intervened.

England wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow tackled one protestor and carried the person about 50 meters (yards) before leaving him in the hands of security over the boundary hoardings. England captain Ben Stokes and Australia batter David Warner corralled the other protestor. Some orange powder was released but only on the grass, away from the pitch.

Bairstow went to the England changing room to clean himself of some powder, Lord's staff quickly cleaned up what little orange fell on the grass, and play resumed about five minutes later. Watch the video below.

Just Stop Oil protestors have disrupted other major sporting events in Britain this year. They held up the England team bus briefly during the test against Ireland in London this month, and have targeted Premier League soccer matches, the Premiership rugby final at Twickenham, and the world snooker championship in Sheffield. The activists want the British government to stop new fuel licensing and production.

Also Read: Ashes 2023: Nathan Lyon, Travis Head unfazed by Ollie Robinson's sledging

Coming to the match, Stokes won the toss and opted to field first. Australia will look to make their lead 2-0 while England will try to equalize the scorecard.

Off-spinner Nathan Lyon will play his 100th consecutive match in Lord's. He will achieve the unique milestone of becoming the only spinner to do so in cricket history.

"We are gonna have a bowl. Overhead conditions played a massive part and the surface looks good to have a bowl as well. Disappointed not having Woody, but Tongue is a like-for-like replacement. Joe is really enjoying the challenge (with the ball) and is turning into a genuine all-rounder. You can name a numerous amount of things in the last Test, but we could have been a lot more tidier in some of the moments," said Stokes.

Australian captain Pat Cummins said, "We were gonna have a bowl as well. One change. Starc in for Boland. Boland has been good for us, unfortunately he is going to miss out this week. We are selective with our history. It is a fresh start, new team really looking forward to playing here. Every Ashes here at Lord's is special. Not only in terms of fitness (speaking about Lyon), but getting picked in all conditions and playing 100 Tests on the trot is a phenomenal achievement."

(With agency inputs)