IT is usually home to just a few thirsty club cricketers.

But Hursley Park cricket Club near Winchester found itself under pressure from the International Cricket Council this week.

For the visit of Kenya, who were training at the picturesque ground, officials were under strict instructions that displays of KP Nuts were covered up in the pavilion for fear of offending sponsors backing the lucrative ICC Champions' Trophy.

Even though there were no spectators to watch the Kenyans go through their paces, ground staff also had to ensure that the Southern Electric Premier League hoardings dotted around the boundary were turned the other way.

Daily Echo sports writer Mike Vimpany was at the ground to interview one of the Kenyan players and admitted: "I found the situation totally bizarre.

"It was a private session and it all seems a bit heavy-handed."

However, Hursley Park Cricket Club played down the incident.

A spokesman for the club, which is also hosting an England training session later this month, said: "It wasn't a problem. It's what we were expecting and we were more than happy to accommodate."

Meanwhile, the Rose Bowl, the home of Hampshire Cricket Club which will be hosting five Champions' Trophy matches, has been shorn of all the regular perimeter advertising to satisfy the demands of the ICC's global partners.

Rose Bowl plc's partners were not as happy to see their logos covered up for five games that will be watched by a global television audience. Every product in the ground has been rebranded - including televisions and fridges in the dressing rooms.

And when England play at the Rose Bowl on September 17, sponsors Vodafone will be erased from the shirts as they are a rival of mobile phone company Hutchison.

The ICC's Geoff Cox explained: "What we have to provide is what we call a clean ground. That means every bit of advertising, no matter how big or small, comes out."

A deal with the ICC worth £300m over seven years means that LG, Hero Honda, Pepsi and Hutchison will all be given prime space at the Rose Bowl for the next 12 days. But the likes of business advisers Tenon, which employs 140 people in Chandler's Ford, said the firm was surprised to hear its long-standing advertising hoarding near the Rose Bowl's entrance had been taken down.

Spokesman Sandra Black said: "I didn't know anything about this and I'm not very happy about it. I didn't ever expect to have my board taken down."

Financial group Cheltenham & Gloucester, an advertiser which employs more than 640 people at Segensworth, near Fareham, was more understanding. "There are competitions where a clean stadium is required and we understand that," said a spokesman.

A spokesman for the ICC said: "To ensure that there is no conflict, we instruct that no other advertising goes on.

"It's only fair to protect the rights that sponsors have bought for very big amounts."