The incident occurred during the morning session on the second day of the fourth Test between England and India when a spectator dressed in whites ran on to the pitch and attempted to bowl a delivery at the England batter, Ollie Pope. In doing so, the spectator collided with the non-striking batter, Bairstow. The pair then appeared to exchange angry words before stewards removed him from the playing area.
The spectator is understood to be named Daniel Jarvis who also goes by the name Jarvo 69. He has 123,000 subscribers to his Youtube channel.
It was the third time in the series Jarvis has run on to the pitch. While it is understood that, on at least one previous occasion, the club involved simply ejected him from the ground, stewards at The Kia Oval held him until police arrived to make his arrest. His appearance was greeted, in general, by groans and boos from a full-house crowd who were enjoying an absorbing day’s cricket.
Surrey are understood to be disappointed anyone was able to enter the playing area and are conducting a review into the incident.
There may also be concern from the players and their representatives. In both the last two matches, Jarvis has been able to reach the pitch and make contact with the players. While there is no suggestion that his intentions were anything more than attention-seeking, others with far worse motivations may have noted the ease with which he was able to approach the players.
A statement from the Met Police read: “A man has been arrested on suspicion of assault following an incident at the Oval Cricket Ground on Friday, 3 September. He remains in custody at a south London police station.”
Pope, who was England’s top-scorer in their first innings, admitted the interruption had disrupted his concentration.
“It got a few laughs the first time round,” Pope said of Jarvis’ appearances throughout the series. “But it stops play for five minutes. There’s nothing to be gained from it. It does disrupt you but you’ve got to try and block it out.”
George Dobell is a senior correspondent at ESPNcricinfo
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