ENGLAND cricket star Jonny Bairstow carried an eco yob off the pitch at Lord’s after Just Stop Oil protesters disrupted the game.
The cricketer, 33, picked up the pitch invader as he ran on the field during the second Ashes Test match between England and Australia at Lord’s.
GettyJonny Bairstow carried the protester off the ground[/caption]
GettyEngland captain Ben Stokes and Australian opener David Warner confront a protester[/caption]
Three people were subsequently arrested and taken into custody, the Metropolitan Police has confirmed.
Two were seen being put in the back of police vans outside the ground.
One man, dressed in a blue plastic overshirt, was escorted to the back of a van while an officer carried a number of evidence bags.
Another man, wearing a white Just Stop Oil t-shirt with orange stains on it, was placed in a separate van.
Both vehicles arrived with sirens sounding and lights flashing outside the Grace Gates.
It came after footage showed Bairstow being cheered then carrying the protester off the pitch and back towards security stewards as he thrust his fist into the air.
The protesters were booed by the thousands of spectators in attendance as they were escorted around the boundary edge and out of the ground.
They had somehow evaded security and stormed the pitch during the opening stages of the second Ashes Test this morning.
The protesters ran onto the pitch just five minutes into the match, with only a single over from Jimmy Anderson having been completed before the disruption.
There was further chaos as the Just Stop Oil eco yobs then chucked orange paint on the pitch – an act that has become their hallmark.
Groundskeepers had to sweep the playing surface to rid of the orange paint thrown by the eco mob, with the hotly-anticipated match delayed for a short period.
Commentating on the BBC’s Test Match Special, Jonathan Agnew said: “Jonny Bairstow’s dander was up there, he was like a flanker. Let’s hope this doesn’t happen again, let’s hope that’s the one attack on the Ashes this year.”
Marylebone Cricket Club CEO Guy Lavender said he “condemns in the strongest possible terms” the protesters.
In a statement, Mr Lavender added: “(We) condemn in the strongest possible terms today’s pitch incursion and with the behaviour of the protesters involved.
“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.”
Members of the group have disrupted a number of sporting events in recent months, including the Gallagher Premiership final at Twickenham last month.
Saracens and Sale Sharks were engaged in a tight battle, with the scores tied at 6-6, when activists stormed the field.
The eco-zealots let off smoke bombs and flares and threw orange powder over the pitch.
Samuel Johnson, 40, and Patrick Hart, 37, were later charged with aggravated trespass and criminal damage in connection with the incident.
A yob also defaced a snooker table at the Crucible with orange power in April.
The environmental crackpot jumped out of the stands and then climbed on to table one during the first-round match between Robert Milkins and Joe Perry on day three of the World Snooker Championship.
In a coordinated attack, a woman tried to climb on to table two — Mark Allen was playing Fan Zhengyi — but she was stopped by Belgian referee Oliver Marteel.
The action was suspended and both protesters were detained by security backstage.
The climate change group has been staging daily protests since April 24, also disrupting high profile events like the Chelsea Flower Show, as well as holding daily slow marches on major London roads.
On Monday, Met Police Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist told LBC that policing the action has cost £5.5m since April alone, on top of the £7.5m spent policing the series of protests JSO staged between last October and December.
Earlier this month, protest laws were tightened up to allow officers to intervene earlier where protesters are marching in the road, forcing them onto the pavement where disruption is felt to be more than minor.
Meanwhile, England are trying to level the series with Australia after narrowly losing the opening Test by two wickets.
ReutersBen Stokes grabs one of the protesters[/caption]
ReutersA protester is tackled to the floor by security staff[/caption] Read More