IT WON”T just be the bowler given responsibility with the new ball and the batsman facing him that will be nervous when the clock strikes 11am this morning.

The scores of Glamorgan staff that have worked tirelessly to get the Swalec Stadium ready for the Ashes opener will have butterflies in their stomachs to match those of the English and Australians out in the middle.

Stadium director Simon Lee, who was born and still lives in Monmouthshire, has been at the heart of the operation since taking up the role in September last year.

Lee has seen plenty of big events in a career that has seen him in high-profile jobs at Chepstow Racecourse, the Celtic Manor, Rodney Parade and the Millennium Stadium.

He said: “We are all very excited, we have been working on this for many months and it is all coming to fruition. “It’s a massive operation – it is Sky’s biggest ever operation for a cricket match, we have 400 stewards, 300 catering staff, a huge number of media and 16,000 spectators.

“It is hard to cover every aspect in a structured plan and there is always the unexpected.

“For example, one of the major risks is a loss of power, which we can’t control and we have got Western Power in one of our sub-stations throughout the Ashes ready to press a button if it goes down.

“It is the unknown that can catch you out but we have tried to cover all the risks and we are quietly confident. When that first ball is bowled it will be huge, the noise will be phenomenal and this ground will be a cauldron.

“Once that ball is bowled everyone will be relieved but to be honest all of the hard work has been done over the past few months and there’s not much we can do other than a few minor tweaks.”

There are of course those who are still grumbling at being taken out of their comfort zone and being forced to take a trip along the M4 and over the Severn Bridge.

But Lee knows that the only thing they can do is concentrate on keeping the less cynical fans happy and leaving it up to the players to produce a Test to remember.

“We are mindful of some negative press we have had but we have just had to get our heads down and get on with the job,” he said.

“There are some people who resent the fact that Cardiff has the first Ashes Test and there always will be, there is nothing we can do to change that.

“What we can try and do is try and lay on a good performance. This is a historic event for Wales and Glamorgan Cricket Club.

“When I worked at the Millennium Stadium we had the FA Cup final and the Six Nations but somehow this is even bigger in its own way.

“It feels much more personal and we are involved much more personally as a team.

“That said, when the Millennium Stadium opened it received a lot of criticism and nobody thought it could hold the Rugby World Cup and it did, nobody though it could hold the FA Cup and it did.

“We are confident that we can deliver just as successfully.”