Backup pitch ready for WTC final at The Oval in the event of protestor disruption 

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has ensured the provision of a backup pitch for the World Test Championship (WTC) final at The Oval, should the original surface be tampered with in case of protestor disruptions by activists from Just Stop Oil.

Anticipating a potential issue that may affect the pitch, the ICC has modified the playing conditions for the match. The backup pitch will be in use if the original surface is 'damaged, or deemed dangerous'. However, before the use of the backup pitch is signed off, there will be efforts to repair the original strip, with the ensuing result not favoring any team after.

The activists have been a constant presence in some of the major sporting events in the United Kingdom in the recent past, which include Premier League football, the World Snooker Championships, and Premiership Rugby Union. The alliance is essentially a cluster of various environmental action groups that are on a mission to raise awareness about climate change.

Their influence seeped into the cricketing world as well when England's team bus, on its way to the Lord's for the one-off Test against Ireland, was halted by a protest by Just Stop Oil activists. A similar instance occurred with Australia's team bus on Monday as they were headed to The Oval for training.

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"It's something we got in the security briefing a couple of days ago" - Pat Cummins on the backup pitch for WTC Final

The teams were updated on the situation and made aware of the provision of the backup pitch during the security briefing ahead of the one-off encounter.

Hoping that there are no such disruptions during the match, Australian skipper Pat Cummins said ahead of the WTC final:

"It's something we got in the security briefing a couple of days ago. I've heard that they're aware of it and kind of keep an eye out. But that's as much as we've heard. So hopefully, it doesn't happen, obviously. But I've heard there are a few different events that have been affected."

Cummins is a huge advocate for climate change and caused quite a stir after refusing to appear in advertisements for Cricket Australia's (CA) chief energy sponsor. He has taken the initiative by forging 'Cricket for Climate' along with other senior members to reduce the carbon footprint.

Cummins opined that such protests should be carried out in the right manner instead of disrupting sporting events like the WTC final.

"First of all I have to say I haven't really followed it at all, so I don't really know what these protests are about, but my view is always there's right ways to go about things and potentially not the right way to go about things," he said.

There have been numerous instances of pitch invasion as well in England over the years. During India's tour of England in 2021, there were multiple invasions by the infamous 'Jarvo', who was charged after colliding with Jonny Bairstow at The Oval. Security has reportedly been tightened for all five days at the venue.

The WTC final between India and Australia is scheduled to begin today.