The students' demands range from a ceasefire in Israel's war with Hamas to calls for universities to stop investing in Israeli enterprises
Chris Jordan, a Sussex team-mate, presented Archer with the cap in England's pre-match huddle ahead of a revised toss at 3:00pm local time (1400 GMT) - only for further rain to delay the start once again.
With rain still lashing an increasingly gloomy 'home of cricket', umpires Aleem Dar and Chris Gaffaney finally abandoned play for the day after tea at 4:19 pm local time (1519 GMT)
Jordan may only have made eight Test appearances but he has been something of a 'cricket brother' for fellow Barbados-born county colleague Archer.
When the match should have been getting underway at 11:00 am (1000 GMT), the square and pitch remained fully covered.
Further rain then meant hopes of any play before lunch soon disappeared as well.
Now officials will hope the weather relents sufficiently for the match to begin at the scheduled 1000 GMT start of Thursday's second day.
Ashes-holders Australia lead the five-match series 1-0 after their 251-run win in the first Test at Edgbaston last week.
It is 18 years since Australia last won an Ashes series in England.
In 17 of the last 19 Ashes campaigns, the team that has led 1-0 has won the series.
The exceptions were in 1997 when Australia lost at Edgbaston, but won the six-match series 3-2 and 2005 when England lost at Lord's but won the five-Test series 2-1.
World Cup-winner Archer is set to play after James Anderson, England's all-time leading wicket-taker, was ruled out with a calf injury that meant he bowled just four overs at Edgbaston.
Neither England nor Australia have yet named their teams. They are not required to do so until the toss takes place.
The students' demands range from a ceasefire in Israel's war with Hamas to calls for universities to stop investing in Israeli enterprises
Despite Kohli's flowing form ahead of the T20 World Cup in June, pundits have raised concerns over his strike-rate
Saudi Arabia has begun to explore extracting lithium from sea water
Speaking after meeting Lebanese leaders, French foreign minister says there had been "a lot of progress" over the French proposals
The three-shot winner from Japan says he is aiming to become a member of the PGA Tour in the future
Big-hitting Nienaber falters at the finish to settle for secondwhile former Abu Dhabi resident David Horsey takes the third spot at Saadiyat Beach Golf Club
The UAE is India's second-largest export destination after the US
Islamabad is seeking a larger long-term agreement with the fund after a current $3 billion standby arrangement expires this month