Just Stop Oil now targets cricket as England team bus blocked outside Lord's

Police officers were on hand as eco-zealots continue to disrupt major events across the capital.

In a post uploaded to the popular social media platform Instagram, Bairstow said: "If we’re a bit late it’s not our fault."

The Welsh Fire player, who is the son of fellow former England wicketkeeper David Bairstow, included three facepalm emojis on the image.

Brendon McCullum's squad were held up by around five minutes before safely arriving at Lord's for their warm up at 9.15am.

England's test match against Ireland is due to begin on time at 11am.

Marylebone Cricket Club, the proprietors of one of the sport's most iconic stadiums, recently ramped up security amid growing concern about protesters attempting to sabotage upcoming fixtures.

Ahead of the Anglo-Irish fixture, MCC chief executive Guy Lavender warned of the “significant risk” posed by Just Stop Oil protesters.

He also revealed that security measures at the ground had been stepped up in response.

Lavender said: “It’s just a misery with the disruption to major sporting events and people’s way of life.

"All we can do is to continue to prepare for disruption as any sensible ground can do and we have been planning for possible protests for quite a while so we will do our best.

“You can minimise those risks but at a sports ground unless you have a barrier in front of spectators, it is quite difficult.

"The stakes are quite high and the implications are quite high.

"If it damages the square that’s an issue and we have been trying to mitigate for that.

"We have to hope that common sense prevails but the direction of travel suggests that disruption is a significant risk and we have been planning for it.”

Two men stormed the pitch at Twickenham Stadium in south-west London when Saracens defeated Sale Sharks in the Premiership Rugby final.

Play was stopped for five minutes after the pair threw orange powder paint onto the pitch.

Just Stop Oil activists also disrupted the World Snooker Championship at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield in April.

England's test match against Ireland is the first the team have played on home soil in 2023.

Cricketers from the Emerald Isle only competed in their first test match in 2018.

Ireland played England in a one-off four-day test match at Lord's in 2019, with the hosts winning the clash by 143 runs.

However, Ireland tasted victory against the auld enemy in a historic T20 World Cup match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground last October.

But today's clash at Lord's will also give the squad the opportunity to get some game time ahead of the upcoming Ashes Series against Australia.

England will look to avenge the drubbing they picked up during the last Ashes Series Down Under when Australia won four out of five tests.

Lord's will host the second test against Australia after Edgbaston opens the series on June 16.

The remaining three fixtures will be played at Headingley, Old Trafford and Oval.