PCA officials bar girls from serving drinks on the field

For the first three ODIs, skimpily clad girls came out with a trolley to serve drinks to the players. While many, including a few players, enjoyed it, purists thought it was an inappropriate addition to the gentleman's game.

PCA officials bar girls from serving drinks on the field

Officials of the Punjab Cricket Association were perhaps among the purists, for they did not allow the young women to enter the playing field. Instead, though the girls had been hired to serve drinks, they were requested to sit in the stands. And they were given the best seats at the pavilion end.

Mao's cricket army A Group of Chinese girls roaming around at the Punjab Cricket Association ground caught the attention of inquisitive cricket lovers. Later, they were spotted in the stands watching the Aussies and Indians do battle. It turned out they were members of a Chinese development cricket squad which had traveled to Mohali to play a few cricket matches. The girls were completely in love with Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag, though they struggled to pronounce their names correctly.

Surprisingly, they did not know who India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni was. Dhoni, who has many endorsements in his kitty, was recently rated the richest cricketer by Forbes magazine. Their own skipper, Ma Mao, happens to be a fan of medium pacer Brett Lee. Needless to say, she was disappointed that Lee had returned home injured.

Trespassing nuisance
Trespassing remains a perennial problem at this venue. Yesterday there were many hold-ups because people in the pavilion end seats were walking to and fro without a care in the world for the batsmen. Australia skipper Ricky Ponting was particularly upset at the goings-on and waved rather agitatedly at the offenders, asking them to move from the area near the sightscreen. Local boy Yuvraj Singh, who was fielding at mid-on, even gestured to the cops manning the stand to be more vigilant. The problem continued throughout the match.u00a0

PCA's personal touch
Other than fans strolling around the sightscreen area, the PCA Stadium is quite a pleasant venue. Officials here ensure that everything is in place and there is always a personal touch. Yesterday was Mitchell Johnson's 28th birthday and just before the start of the match, a birthday message flashed on the giant electronic screen.

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