THE Ashes roadshow may have already headed east along the M4 to Lord’s but Welsh cricket is making sure that there is a legacy of the five dramatic days of action in Cardiff.

It will be back to earth with a bump at the Swalec Stadium this week when Glamorgan host Kent in Division Two of the County Championship.

After five sell-out days with England loudly backed to the hilt, it will be back to the sparse crowds looking for Matthew Maynard’s men to entertain.

The critics who had lambasted the decision to send the series over the Severn Bridge were comprehensively silenced but Glamorgan won’t dwell on the success of their Ashes Test.

They will bid to continue their hard work and attract many of the fans that headed to the Swalec Stadium back to county cricket. It was said that 50 per cent of the crowd were Welsh so that gives 8,000 people to target.

And the way in which the sport took the spotlight away from rugby and football for a week presents a chance to draw in the youngsters.

“From a Welsh cricketing point of view I really feel this will be a kick-start for the next generation of 10 and 11-year-olds,” said Glamorgan’s former England spinner Robert Croft.

“I think back to when I was that age and Botham’s Ashes, it did the same then. The attention to Test cricket has lifted in Cardiff and that has to be positive for Welsh cricket.”

The event provided the chance for schoolchildren to get a glimpse of top-class cricket and allowed the opportunity to reward the many volunteers, teachers and coaches who give up their time.

The Cricket Board of Wales are keen to grasp the moment and point to the magical 2005 Ashes series – labelled as the greatest ever – as an example of both taken and wasted opportunities.

“There was a real spin-off in 2005 and I think we will see the same again,” said acting director of cricket Jeremy Cartwright. “The fact that there were five days of cricket and there was such an exciting finish will have a real impact.

“It was the first thing on the news, it was on the back and front pages of the papers - a lot of people will stand up and take notice of the event.

“It has the potential to attract plenty of new talent to the game but the key is to hang on to those new players, and I’m not sure that happened in 2005.

“The beauty of this Test is that it is right in the middle of the season rather than in September – there are four more to come and cricket will stay at the forefront.”

Welsh cricket hopes the sport is in a stronger position when the Aussies return to Cardiff for a one-dayer next year, and in a healthier state still when Sri Lanka and India visit for a Test and ODI, respectively, in 2011.