England team bus was held up by protesters while on its way to the Lord's for the opening day of the one-off Test against Ireland, wicketkeeper-batter Jonny Bairstow shared on social media on Thursday. The protesters under the aegis of 'Just Stop Oil' demanded that the British government should "halt all licences and consents for new oil, gas and coal projects". Sharing this in his Instagram story, Bairstow wrote: "If we're a bit late it's not our fault", even as several 'Just Stop Oil' protesters and security personnel can be seen surrounding the bus in the middle of the road.
'Just Stop Oil' protesters released a video on social media and wrote, "Just Stop Oil supporters march In Kensington and Battersea. And apparently, that's the @englandcricket team bus. They might know a bit about a batting collapse, but the climate crisis is no one-day international -- it's our biggest test."
A statement issued by the organisation on their website said, "At 8:00am (UK time), around 50 'Just Stop Oil' supporters, in five groups, began marching on roads around Hyde Park and Battersea Park. At around 8:37 a mini march of four people walking on Kensington Gore was seen delaying the England Cricket Team, who were travelling by coach.
"Police arrived on scene within minutes and placed a Public Order Act (Section 12) notice on the march, ending it by 8:43. All teams were off the road by 10am. Further marches are expected later this morning. Just Stop Oil has been marching six days a week since April 24th." The match, however, wasn't delayed as the team bus arrived at the Lord's on time.
England won the toss and elected to bowl, reducing Ireland to 32/3 in 12 overs. Pacer Stuart Broad accounted for all three wickets.
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