What is the London oil protest that has led to ICC preparing two pitches for the WTC final

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has prepared two pitches for the World Test Championship (WTC) final between Australia and India which is being played at the Kennington Oval ground in London.

The alternative pitch was made in the light of threats from the Just Stop Oil group which had said that it would vandalize the ground as well as the pitch, like it has done in the past.

The UK government didn’t take the threat lightly as the protesters have trespassed on the grounds in the last one year and have disrupted the matches.

What is the Just Stop Oil group?

The Just Stop Oil group is a combination of two climate activists groups - Extension Rebellion and Insulate Britain. 

The group describes itself as the “coalition of groups working together to ensure the government commits to halt new fossil fuel licensing and production,” the BBC reported.

What does it want?

The group wants the UK government to halt new licenses to oil exploration and other fossil fuels in the UK. The government is committed to give 100 new oil and gas projects by 2025.

How are they protesting?

Though the concerns raised by the group are legitimate, their ways of protesting, for instance blocking of roads, has been criticised by the people.

The protesters from the group have also disrupted many football matches in the last one year. In one such instance, a protester tied himself to a goalpost. He was taken off the ground and sentenced to six months of imprisonment for his act. 

Not only this, in the last one year, the activists from the group have blocked the M25 motorway, thrown soup at Vincent Van Gogh’s sunflowers at the National Gallery, interrupted games at the World Snooker Championship and attempted to disrupt the British Grand Prix.

What has the UK government done?

The government has arrested a number of activists and also curbed down on protests but it didn't have much impact . Therefore, the UK government passed an anti-protests legislation in the parliament, called the Public Order Bill.

The Public Order Bill would give new powers to the government to prosecute someone who interferes with the operations or use of key national infrastructure in England and Wales, whether on roads, railways, or air transport infrastructure. 

Under the current legislation, the police can only stop a protest in case it results in serious public disorder, serious damage to property or serious disruption to the life of the community.

What if the WTC final gets disrupetd?

In case, the protesters disrupt the match and the main pitch gets damaged, the on-field umpires will assess the pitch. And if the pitch is damaged, then they will look at the other pitch and take a final call on whether the match can be resumed or not.

The ICC has also kept June 12 as the reserve day in case rain or weather change hampers the game.