Give Jonny Bairstow a knighthood. Whatever else happens at the Ashes, or indeed throughout the rest of his cricketing career, the England wicketkeeper has already earned his place in history, with his quick-thinking response to a Just Stop Oil activist who tried – and failed – to disrupt play at Lord’s this morning.
Immediately after the first over, two members of the eco-extremist troupe ran on to the outfield, wielding their trademark orange paint. Bairstow intercepted one of them, picking him up and carrying him all the way to the boundary, with all the calm and nonchalance of a man returning a stepladder to the shed.
England captain Ben Stokes and Australian batsman David Warner blocked the path of the other protester, giving the stewards enough time to catch up with him. A third was reportedly nabbed by security before he made it on to the outfield. In the end, the interruption only lasted a few minutes.
Bairstow joins a growing gallery of iconic counter-protesters who have put disruptive Just Stop Oil and Extinction Rebellion lunatics in their place.
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