New Glamorgan women's side 'monumental' for Wales

Glamorgan women host Sussex in Cardiff in their first competitive match on Saturday, 19 April

The arrival of professional women's county cricket in Wales has been hailed as a "monumental" move by the head of the new operation.

Glamorgan will run a semi-pro side initially, moving to the top county level in 2027.

"If you asked me three or four years ago, I wouldn't have thought we would have a women's team here at Glamorgan turning professional in two years' time," said the Welsh county's head of women and girls cricket Aimee Rees.

Eight of the 18 men's first-class counties will field a professional side in 2025, to be joined by Yorkshire and then Glamorgan.

It is part of another shake-up in women's cricket, with the previous regional side Western Storm being based in the west of England.

Nine senior Wales players from the old county system will provide the basis of the new Glamorgan squad, together with 15 academy hopefuls drawn from Wales, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire, to play a mixture of 50-overs and 20-overs cricket.

The older players' jobs include teacher, solicitor, physio and radiographer, as well as a number of students.

"Those girls have shown incredible commitment coming in for squad sessions twice a week and one-to-one sessions, but they really want to play for Glamorgan," said Rees.

Coaching them will be Rachel Priest, 39, who made 162 international appearances for New Zealand and featured in the women's Big Bash in Australia as well as the Hundred in the UK.

But two years playing county cricket for Wales helped attract Priest back to Cardiff.

"It was a real privilege to play for a county that also represented a country, and I love the people here, so it was an awesome opportunity for me to start my coaching career and be part of something brand new," said Priest.

"What an opportunity for these girls to have a career in a sport they love.

"There's a long way to go in the development of women's cricket around the world but the UK has put a lot of resource into it and this new set-up is going to be really good in bringing on the next generation."

Glamorgan's men and women will play four T20 double-headers at Sophia Gardens this summer

A first at Sophia Gardens was a joint media session of photo-shoots and interviews for the men's and women's teams together.

"I'm filled with a huge amount of pride to be here today with a Glamorgan badge on my chest, it's a huge honour and I couldn't be happier," enthused Beth Gammon, a 24-year-old player with the old Wales team.

"It's going to be a step up with more games, more strength and conditioning and a significantly higher standard of players against us.

"I live and breathe cricket through my work and playing it, so it would be incredible to call yourself a professional player [in 2027]."

Gammon, who also coaches professionally in Nottinghamshire, is also looking forward to four T20 double-headers with the men's team, including two at headquarters.

"Getting to know them and share Sophia Gardens is a fantastic opportunity when it comes to the double-headers, it's going to be a fantastic environment," she added.

The timing of professionalism for the Welsh county could hardly be better for players like Sara Phillips, a 20-year-old student at Cardiff Met university who has come up through the Wales age-grade system.

"It was always my dream to be a professional but at times I couldn't see that dream coming true, now it's there for anyone to grab," said Phillips.

"It's massive because you can see a career out of it now. It's so exciting, it's so good to train more and improve our game.

"To have a platform for everyone to see the women's game develop over the years, it's such a nice thing to see all that work paying off and to be showcased for everyone to see."

While the new women's county set-up is funded by extra payments from the England and Wales Cricket Board, the long-term target is for women's county cricket to be a major part of Glamorgan.

"It's probably a 10-year vision, the better the standards get, the better they get physically, that will help make it a viable product for people to want to come and watch," said Rees.

Glamorgan women host Sussex in Cardiff in their first competitive match on Saturday, 19 April.