Why Lord’s is on high alert: Spot checks, undercover guards for India vs England 3rd Test | Cricket News – Times of India

Image credit score: Lords cricket Ground

Enhanced safety measures have been enforced at Lord’s Cricket Ground for the third Test between England and India, which started on Thursday. The protocols embody random spot checks on spectators and the deployment of undercover personnel, following disruptions in the course of the earlier Ashes sequence and issues about potential protests at this marquee conflict.The match is anticipated to attract the largest crowd at Lord’s because the 2023 Ashes, with tickets offered out for the primary 4 days and roughly 16,000 already bought for Day 5.As half of the tightened safety, flags and banners are prohibited, and extra safeguards have been launched for gamers within the pavilion. These steps observe incidents of verbal abuse focused at Australian gamers throughout final yr’s Ashes Test.

One of essentially the most alarming breaches got here in the course of the second Ashes Test in 2023, when a Just Stop Oil protester ran onto the sphere and threw orange paint on the pitch. The protester was swiftly eliminated by England wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow.ROOT STEADIES ENGLANDOn the sphere, Joe Root’s unbeaten 99 anchored England’s innings on a gradual, grinding first day at Lord’s. The hosts ended Thursday on 251 for 4 after opting to bat first.

Root walked in with England in hassle at 44 for 2, after India’s Nitish Kumar Reddy made a sensational begin by eradicating each openers—Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley—in his very first over.In a departure from England’s typical ‘Bazball’ method, Root curbed his aggression and led the resistance with a measured knock in his 156th Test look, scoring at a run charge simply above three an over.Captain Ben Stokes, who received the toss underneath sunny skies at Lord’s, was unbeaten on 39 at stumps. He and Root have to this point added an unbroken 79-run stand for the fifth wicket, giving England a foothold after early harm.