IT will be a moment Newport CC never dreamed would happen when they left Rodney Parade but first-class cricket will rise from the ashes and return to the city in three weeks.

Spytty Park is being prepared for the visit of Pakistan A when the tourists, who will be warming up for a triangular series with England Lions and their Sri Lankan counterparts, take on Glamorgan on Friday, July 15 (10.30am start).

Entry to the game will be free – although the club are hopeful that spectators will pay £3 for a special souvenir programme – and it promises to be a special occasion as county cricket returns to Newport for the first time since 1990 when Glamorgan's final visit to Rodney Parade, a one-day match against Yorkshire, was a washout.

Club coach Dave Knight said: "It seemed very unlikely that first-class cricket would ever come back to Newport but over the course of 25 years we've worked hard to develop the ground.

"We've had good comments from Glamorgan seconds and the various teams who have played here over recent seasons."

The club played their final fixture at their old home in September 1990 against Cardiff, making ashes from the bails at the end of the game.

Committee member Mike Rutledge said: "The day we left Rodney Parade and closed the door, a lot of people felt that was the end of Newport Cricket Club.

"That was because it was hard to see what we had been offered at Spytty Park being turned into a first-class facility.

"It was field that you'd probably put cows on. There was nothing here."

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Club coach Mike Knight, who was Newport captain in the final game at Rodney Parade, added: "The council were very sympathetic, they suggested a couple of sites that weren't really suitable and then probably the last attempt was here.

"We met a man who took us out to a big post – to get there we had to walk through grass up to my knees and you could just about see the top of the post – and when we got there he said 'this will be the middle of your cricket square'.

"The previous season we had been playing against Shane Warne (who was with Bristol Imperial), Allan Border had played in the Western League and it was a high level of cricket, but all of a sudden we were coming to this place and we thought that was it.

"But the council had a vision of the International Sports Village and their view was that us coming could be a bit of a catalyst."

So it has proved with the cricket club now having the Football Association of Wales' Dragon Park as their neighbours along with Newport Stadium, the National Velodrome, Newport Tennis Centre and a swimming pool.

Three years ago Newport hosted the Sri Lanka team when they were preparing for Champions Trophy fixtures in Cardiff and next month they will have a new chapter to be put in the new cricket museum that is being built in the old squad courts adjoining the pavilion.

There will be a cricket activity area for youngsters on the back pitch for the Glamorgan-Pakistan A fixture while refreshments will be available throughout the day.

The souvenir programme will be available ahead of the game from the pavilion or by contacting Mr Rutledge on 07702 236536 or mikerutledge123@aol.com or on the day.