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.
