Glamorgan take to road for 2007

St Helen's could profit from the Sophia Gardens development

Glamorgan's Sophia Gardens development means the county are set to play more games away from Cardiff in 2007.

Their capital home is set to undergo a £7.4m upgrade - subject to planning permission - in order to prepare it for an Ashes Test match in 2009.

That could see more four-day matches played in Colwyn Bay and at Swansea's St Helen's ground next season.

"There may be more county championship ties out of Cardiff in 2007," Glamorgan chairman Paul Russell told BBC Sport.

"But we should certainly be able to play most of the one-dayers at Sophia Gardens to take advantage of the floodlights.

"We plan to maintain a capacity of around 6,000 throughout 2007."

Why is it so incredible that the capital city of Wales should host a Test match? Paul Russell

Glamorgan have passionate fans throughout Wales, especially at their part-time homes.

St Helen's and Colwyn Bay are hot-beds of support, while games are also played on a semi-regular basis at Abergavenny and Pontypridd.

But all the subsidiary grounds have seen their fixtures slashed over the last decade as facilities at Sophia Gardens have been developed.

Meanwhile, Russell has been riled by the amazement in the English media at the announcement of the proposed Ashes Test in Cardiff.

"The real surprise to me is the shock and astonishment that everyone has greeted the news with," Russell told BBC Sport Wales.

I am sure Glamorgan's offer was the best and I am thrilled for south Wales and the south-west of England Former ECB chairman Lord Ian MacLaurin

"Why is it so incredible that the capital city of Wales should host a Test match?"

After Sophia Gardens won the Ashes vote ahead of the likes of Old Trafford and the Rose Bowl, there were widespread accusations about the over-influence of the so-called 'Taffia' in the England and Wales Cricket Board.

But former ECB chairman Lord Ian MacLaurin called such comments "nonsense".

"I am sure Glamorgan's offer was the best and I am thrilled for south Wales and the south-west of England," he said.

Tredegar-born current chairman David Morgan said: "The process was transparent and I have had no direct involvement in the decision."

As well as Morgan, ECB deputy chief executive Huw Morris is Welsh, while national coach Duncan Fletcher and assistant Matthew Maynard are adopted Welshmen with deep Glamorgan backgrounds.

But all five members of the independent panel evaluating the Ashes bids were English.