Watch: Bairstow lifts pitch invader, carries him out as Lord's Ashes Test vandalised, Ashwin's reaction takes the cake
Jonny Bairstow took it on himself to carry the protestor away from action after the latter invaded the field on Day 1 of the second Ashes Test.
The second Test of the Ashes series began June 28 at the iconic Lord's stadium, with England captain Ben Stokes inviting Australia to bat first. The historic rivalry between both the sides is known for its on-field drama and high-voltage clashes, but on Day 1 of the Test, it weren't the players but a protestor who headlined the early proceedings at the start of the match. After the first over, a man invaded the field and England's wicketkeeper-batter Jonny Bairstow nonchalantly chased the protestor, lifted the man on his shoulders and dropped him near the boundary line to a tremendous applause from the fans.
The protestor is believed to be from the ‘Just Stop Oil’ group, which has demanded that the British government should "halt all licences and consents for new oil, gas and coal projects".
The protestor at Lord's vandalised the area near the pitch with orange paint and the match was halted for nearly ten minutes as the ground officials cleared the area. After successfully carrying the protestor off the playing area, Bairstow went to the dressing room to change his seemingly stained clothes.
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Watch as Bairstow carried the protestor away from the ground:
Team India's star spinner Ravichandran Ashwin also reacted to the incident.
This isn't the first time when the group has invaded proceedings at a high-profile sporting event. 'Just Stop Oil' protesters had also halted the world snooker championship and the English Premiership rugby final in recent months.
In fact, there were also concerns over the group disrupting the World Test Championship final between India and Australia earlier this month, that took place at The Oval. However, no such incident took place at the time.
"It's something we got in the security briefing a couple days ago," Australia captain Pat Cummins had said about the potential concerns of a public protest at the time.
“I’ve heard that they're aware of it and kind of keeping an eye out. But that’s as much as we’ve heard.”
Earlier, Cummins confirmed one change in the XI from the win in Edgbaston in the first Test, with left-arm fast bowler Mitchell Starc replacing Scott Boland. England, meanwhile, brought in Josh Tongue for Moeen Ali.
