About five minutes into the second Ashes cricket test between England and Australia on Wednesday, two protesters from the Just Stop Oil movement ran onto the pitch at Lords and briefly halted play.
The England and Australia players stopped the environmental activists from spreading orange powder on the pitch.
Jonny Bairstow, the wicketkeeper for England, tackled one protester and carried him about 50 yards before handing him off to security over the boundary hoardings. The other protester was subdued by Australia’s David Warner and England captain Ben Stokes.
Three people have been detained by the police, according to a statement from the London Metropolitan Police.
Approximately five minutes after Bairstow left England’s changing room to remove some powder from himself, Lord’s staff quickly cleaned up any orange that may have fallen on the grass. Play then quickly resumed.
This year, Just Stop Oil protesters have interfered with other significant sporting events in Britain. They have targeted Premier League football matches, the Premiership rugby final at Twickenham, and the world snooker championship in Sheffield. They briefly stopped the England team bus during the test match against Ireland in London this month.
“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,” Marylebone Cricket Club CEO Guy Lavender said in a statement.
