Russell unsure over Ashes return

Glamorgan are hoping to stage further Ashes Test matches

Glamorgan chairman Paul Russell fears Cardiff will be overlooked when the venues for the next Ashes series are announced in October.

Russell confirmed the Welsh county will be bidding for another package to stage England Tests between 2012 and 2016.

That period includes the next Ashes series and the visit of South Africa.

But Russell said: "The fact that we staged a Test match this year will count against us in the next bidding process. That's the way it works."

Glamorgan's revamped home ground, redeveloped at a cost of around £14m, won high praise after an impressive debut as a Test venue on Wednesday.

I asked them to treat every customer they met as the most important person in the world Glamorgan chairman Paul Russell

The decision to award Cardiff the opening match of the Ashes series courted plenty of controversy, but even the most hard-nosed critics described the opening day as "a triumph".

Glamorgan face stiff competition for the next round of seven packages, though, as the England and Wales cricket Board continues its policy of taking games to new venues around the country.

The Welsh county's trump card in the last bidding process was their ability to out-bid their rivals thanks to support from the Welsh Assembly Government, which contributed £1.2m over three years.

But following a review of the bidding process, the ECB has revealed the new system will give greater consideration to cricketing and geographical issues rather than the size of the cheque.

"The system will reflect the ECB's priorities for the game," said the ECB's head of venues Gordon Hollins. "We want to give grounds greater certainty of supply so that they can invest in world-class facilities."

606: DEBATE Cardiff's debut as a Test venue is a consummate triumph Borges-y-Yo

Despite Russell's reservations on Glamorgan's hopes to stage another Ashes Test in four years' time, the ground certainly put a decent case forward for consideration on Wednesday.

England batsman Kevin Pietersen summed up the general consensus among the players by saying were "made to feel special".

Russell said the opening day was the culmination of 14 months of planning, which strove to achieve the best "customer experience" for everyone inside the ground.

He said: "We had our final staff briefing on Monday night and I took the opportunity to remind everybody of two things.

"Number one, is that we shock the world and secondly we deserved this - this was not an aberration.

"I asked them to do two things, number one was to treat every customer they met as the most important person in the world, and secondly to treat every request as the most important thing they've ever been asked to do."