• Home
  • Match Hub
  • Watch Unruly Pitch Invader Halts Play At Kennington Oval As Ashes Witnesses Another Disruption

[WATCH] Unruly Pitch Invader Halts Play at Kennington Oval as Ashes Witnesses Another Disruption

image-lko7f295The pitch invader was promptly caught by the security (Twitter)

The Ashes 2023 has been full of surprises and excitement, but Day 3 of the fifth Test at the Kennington Oval provided a different spectacle as a pitch invader momentarily halted the play.

The pitch invader disrupted play momentarily on Day 3

With England at 288/4 during the 56th over, a shirtless man sprinted across the field, leading security on a chase from one side of the ground to the other. The game was briefly stopped before security personnel apprehended the man after he entered the stands.

This pitch-invading incident was a reminder of an earlier disruption during the second Test at Lord's when two protestors from the 'Just Stop Oil' Movement invaded the field, sprinkling orange powder close to the 22-yards. 

England wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow made headlines then as he physically carried one of the invaders off the ground. However, on this occasion, the security handled the situation without any intervention from the players, and play resumed swiftly.



Coming to the match, England displayed a stunning performance, coming back strongly after conceding a 12-run lead. Openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett laid a solid foundation with a 79-run partnership before the latter was dismissed by Mitchell Starc for 42. Crawley went on to score 73 before being caught off Pat Cummins' delivery.

Captain Ben Stokes contributed a handy 42, while Harry Brook was dismissed for 7. The real damage was done by Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root, who put the Australian bowlers to the sword, taking the score to 346/5 at a brisk rate of over 5 runs per over.

At the time of writing this article, England lead by 335 runs, with Bairstow batting on 72.