By John May BBC Sport at the Rose Bowl

Hampshire's Rose Bowl passed its interview with flying colours, and is now waiting anxiously for the job offer from the ECB.

The Rose Bowl became the latest addition to the roster of international venues and proved itself to be what Hampshire Cricket chairman Rod Bransgrove always wanted it to be - a ground fit for the big occasion.

When Hampshire vacated their old Northlands Road home at the end of the 2000 season, they swapped charm for pizzazz.

Bransgrove, one of the most innovative and progressive county chairmen, was determined to drag Hampshire kicking and screaming into the 21st century.

Zimbabwe and South Africa in action at the Rose Bowl

There is still some work to be done at the Rose Bowl if it wants to be a regular stop on the international circuit.

The media centre needs to be a permanent structure, and if Hampshire want to achieve their dream of staging a Test match, the capacity will have to be increased to a 16,000 minimum.

That should be no big deal. The Rose Bowl currently has 10,000 seats, and the original design assumed a second tier would be added at some stage.

But for all its public face on big match days, the Rose Bowl is a thriving business away from cricket, hence its formation into a separate company, Rose Bowl plc.

Behind the pavilion sits one of the most advanced indoor schools in the country, a state-of-the-art facility that is eagerly used by clubs and schools as well as Hampshire pros.

The site also contains a fitness club and a nine-hole golf course (soon to expand to 18 and to include a driving range), while the pavilion is open all year as a venue for corporate events.

County cricket alone would not support the Rose Bowl, and other clubs are keenly eyeing the other ways Hampshire make money.

The office space at the Rose Bowl hosts Hawkeye, the graphics company that bring cricket and tennis to life.

And the same banqueting company that has been formed to provide fodder at the Rose Bowl, has also won contracts to supply Twickenham rugby, Glyndebourne Opera, and other big corporate events.

Big pop and classical music contests are also on tap to bring in income.

The Rose Bowl staging its first international

But in the end, it will stand or fall as a cricket ground.

It is already on the ECB's rolling four-year list of international venues, and next year will stage the West Indies v New Zealand one-day international.

As Bransgrove admits, though: "The big test will come when we stage an England game.

"This ground was always designed as one for the big occasion and we have proved by being chosen to stage the Twent20 launch game, and this one-day international that it can cope.

"I never saw South Africa v Zimbabwe as a dress rehearsal for an England game. It was an international match in its own right.

"But it is our aim not only to stage one-day internationals here, but Test matches as well."

He wasn't the only one. As Zimbabwe's top order crumbled, head groundsman Nigel Gray could already see the headlines criticising a Rose Bowl wicket that has been capricious in the past.

South Africa's dusting off of the target for three wickets, though, suggested there was far more wrong with the Zimbabwe batting than with the Rose Bowl track.

Publicly, Bransgrove and Hampshire will maintain a diplomatic silence, but privately, Hampshire officials say they have got good initial vibes back from the ECB.

All they have to do now is sit by the phone and wait for the call telling them they have the job to stage an England game.