Glamorgan's Friends Provident trophy match against Surrey at Cresselly played on Bank Holiday Monday, May 28, is still the major talking point amongst Pembrokeshire cricketers.

First time visitors to the ground and the national media were astonished at the intense level of interest in cricket in small Pembrokeshire villages. They were fascinated by things that local cricketers take for granted such as playing cricket next to a working farm and walking over two cattle grids to reach the ground. Doctor Andrew Hignell, the Glamorgan scorer, cricket historian and statistician, obtained his doctorate after extensive research into urban development. He showed that he is a dab hand in rural affairs as well, by revealing that the Cresselly village consisting of 13 houses and a population of 75 was the smallest population centre ever to stage a first class match! What did the experts think after the match? Some views are set out below. John Williams, chairman of St Helen's Balconiers John Williams has been a leading light in arranging and promoting the Swansea Cricket Festival for many years and also serves on the Glamorgan Committee. He was delighted to be at the Cresselly ground. "It is lovely to be here in Pembrokeshire," he said and added: "It is a big milestone for Glamorgan to bring their first team to Pembrokeshire. We are delighted to be here. We can see the huge amount of hard work in setting this game up. Being involved with Swansea cricket over the years, we know what hard work is involved with volunteers to get the thing going. I believe that Glamorgan is a Welsh county and should take cricket around the Principality and I hope that there will be an opportunity to bring a game down here in the future."

Edward Bevan - BBC Radio Wales Cricket Correspondent: Edward Bevan has watched and reported on cricket all over the world and was impressed with what he had seen at Cresselly. He said "It's a credit to the club, for everybody concerned and the huge work they have done. I would say that this out ground would compare with any in the country, not only for the facilities, but also for the wonderful view. "They have had a bit of a problem with the weather, but it has turned out nice in the end. The pitch is perfectly all right. I think it is great and that Glamorgan should come back down here." Geoff Holmes, former Glamorgan player and Director of Cricket for Cricket Board of Wales: Observer Sport caught up with him when he was watching play from the sight screen at the School End.

"I think it looks fabulous, the ground looks magnificent after all the dreadful weather yesterday and I am just delighted for the people of Pembrokeshire that we've got a dry day for the game with Surrey here today."

What did he think of the wicket? "Well Glamorgan did not really bat that well, but managed to score in excess of 200. It is difficult to assess as I haven't been up to the wicket, but it looks like it's got a nice carry through with reasonable consistent bounce. So from here it looks like an OK wicket bearing in mind all of the bad weather we've had. They have worked wonders here."

Paul Russell - Chairman of Glamorgan Cricket: What were his impressions when he arrived at the ground on the morning of the match? "I was stunned at the transformation in the ground since I came down and had a look at it back in October. I think everyone concerned at Cresselly deserves a great deal of credit for what they've done." Had he had any feedback from the players as to what they think of the pitch? "No not specifically because I've not had an opportunity to speak with them. That's good news because they are not cautious in expressing a negative view if they had one, so it's literally a case of no news being good news!

"I think the fact that in spite of having lost early wickets we scored over 200 in 39 overs means that there was nothing spiteful about the track and that there is every reason that it will behave itself." From a financial aspect, in terms of revenue how would the revenue that Glamorgan will obtain from this match being held at Cresselly compare with it being held in Cardiff? "Well in terms of a single event, very favourably as you would expect. This is an occasion for Pembrokeshire and people have travelled from quite a distance to see it.

"That is not the only issue. We will have shortly a splendid headquarters ground in Sophia Gardens and we are in partnership with a number of companies who use the cricket brand in association with their brand. They will demand and expect that we play the vast majority of cricket at Cardiff. "It is a more complex equation than say well where do we get the most money for a single game? Certainly in terms of the crowds who are able to pay, the paying crowds we would have been able to attract at Cardiff, then the crowd here this exceeds that by some margin.

"The Sunday limited over cricket has lost its appeal over the years and the ECB have spent a great deal of time as we have ourselves seeking to find out why. The conclusion we have come up with is that it is because of its irregular pattern. It is what the marketeers call "making an appointment to view. "For example, it is pointless asking my wife if she would like to come out to dinner with me on a Tuesday night because she is watching 'Lost' and she knows that at eight o'clock every Tuesday that is what she is doing.

"Back in the early '90s people made a point of seeing Sunday cricket, as I did myself, and when you woke up on a Sunday morning you knew that Glamorgan would be playing. The only question was where? Was it at Cardiff or Swansea or on one of the away grounds.

"We have now lost that, which means that each game has to be marketed as a separate entity. That is quite a time consuming and can be an expensive process."

From what he had seen at Cresselly what are the prospects of making a return visit?

"Well I think very good. We have to find a balance because what I've said about Cardiff is true and will remain true. We do as our mission represent the Welsh nation at cricket and we get a lot of support from the Welsh Assembly Government and from other Welsh bodies to do that. It that behoves us therefore to be seen playing cricket outside Cardiff and we are very keen to do that within as I say the business imperatives that I explained earlier. "So in terms of coming back to Cresselly and to take advantage of the clear interest that is here the population and the keenness and desire of the cricket club and Pembrokeshire Council to help us, then the omens must be good."

Maurice Cole - President of Pembroke County Cricket Club:

The former Cresselly captain and 'Mr Cresselly' to many people was a proud man. "Well this is a great day for me today and the club. We never thought that we'd see the day when we had first class cricket here. It all goes down to Dave Cherry, Roly Edwards and Glyn Cole. They have worked hard. Indeed someone worked out that there were three thousand man hours put in this game. We started in October and we have been meeting every Sunday night since and I am proud of the club, proud of cricket and proud of Pembrokeshire. The ground is good, the wicket is good, and the crowd is good crowd. Everything is first class"

Mike Fatkin – Chief Executive of Glamorgan Cricket: Mike Fatkin was one of the key decision makers in bringing first class cricket to Pembrokeshire for the first time. What time did get to the ground?

"Probably about five past seven. I travelled down this morning."

What were his impressions at 10.30 am? "Well - good. I've been down here three or four times and I was down here on Friday as well. I know how much effort has gone into it and how they have transformed the whole ground. "I think that this morning when it started raining I did worry a little bit because it didn't look like a passing shower, but I'm pleased we got the bulk of a reasonable game of cricket in.

"I hope the people of Cresselly can look back with a lot of pride."

What about the crowd? "Yes I'm finding it quite intriguing because when someone said to me that there was a Pembrokeshire tradition of standing and watching cricket. I didn't believe it! "It is difficult to tell exactly how many are in and we will do a check towards the end of play, but if you put the people standing up into seats it will probably not be far off 3,000."

He was correct, as the official attendance that he announced later in the day was 2,829.

Continuing, he said "When it came to rain this morning, given where we were and where we are now, I think everybody can be quite happy. We are. "We always said that the amount of work going on at Sophia Gardens always led to us taking a load of cricket out to the different grounds in Wales. This is the best opportunity we are ever going to have to come down to Pembrokeshire, so from our perspective it has been very good."

What were the chances of a return visit? "Well I don't know, but having done it once, I hope people have a taste for it. We went up to North Wales in 1990 to Colwyn Bay after a long break and that was only ever going to be a one-off, but we have been doing it for 18 years!

"I don't want to frighten people, but from our end we are investing a lot of money in the development in Sophia Gardens, so it is expected the bulk of the cricket will be there. If there is an opportunity, of course we will look at it.

"From our perspective sitting in Cardiff this time last year and thinking where could we play, the Cresselly ground was mentioned as a venue. To actually see it is has just been fantastic, so I wouldn't rule it out."

The Cresselly club should be congratulated on making a wonderful day possible for Pembrokeshire cricket, in spite of the adverse weather on the morning of the match. By the time the match was drawing to a close, the conditions resembled something like normality at the Cresselly ground.

At some stage or another everyone connected with the Cresselly club - players, officials, wives, mothers, girl friends, sisters and supporters was involved with the project - not just on the day when they could be seen in action, but also in the months leading up to the big match.

In particular, people such as David Cherry, Glyn Cole, Roly Edwards, Maurice Cole, Lyn (club captain and treasurer) and David Richards (club secretary) lived and breathed the game for months.

David Cherry likes to stay firmly rooted in the background, but this match would not have been possible without his meticulous planning and motivational powers.

In addition, club chairman and groundsman Glyn Cole has virtually lived at the ground for weeks and planned the ground preparation in tandem with Glamorgan's head groundsman Len Smith for months. Glyn Cole received regular help on the ground from Dennis Chiffi.

Another former Cresselly player and now the Pembroke County Cricket treasurer Roly Edwards masterminded the sponsorship and advertising - both of which were sell-outs.

It was apparent that everyone at the Cresselly ground on the day had enjoyed a memorable and historic occasion.