The second Test of the Ashes series began on June 28 at the Lord's Stadium in London. While Australia had defeated the hosts in the series opener at the Edgbaston Stadium in Birmingham, England looking to level the series decided to bowl first in overcast conditions in the second Test match. However, there was drama right from the initial minutes of the second itself and it wasn't even all about the players that caused a delay in the play early in the day's play on Wednesday.
Just before the start of the second over, a couple of protesters from the 'Just Stop Oil' Environmental action group invaded the pitch, running from the Grand Stand. However, they were prevented getting to the pitch. David Warner and Ben Stokes stopped one of them from getting to the strip while the other one was picked and carried off by Jonny Bairstow, the video of which has surfaced online. The entire turn of events caused a delay of about six minutes in the match.
However, it was Bairstow's gesture that has attracted the most eyeballs. Even the stadium had given a huge round of applause as the English star had dropped the protester off the field. And veteran India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin also reacted to Bairstow's act moments after the clip had gone viral on the internet.
Sharing the video, he wrote: "Good start to the 2nd test. Bairstow has done some heavy lifting already😂😂 #Ashes2023"
Here is his Tweet and some of the reactions on it: