By Peter Shuttleworth

Storm clouds have lingered above The Swalec Stadium for too long as Glamorgan have suffered five dark years.

But Glamorgan are fighting back from the brink of possible extinction and, despite concerns by some Daffodil County members, the forecast seems bright for the Welsh club.

Sophia Gardens' £9.4m revamp from a 6,000-capacity cricketing outpost to a 15,000-capacity Test arena is making the Cardiff stadium fit for an Ashes Test

But Glamorgan's Ashes coup to host this summer's first Test not only caused a stir nationally, but locally.

A section of Glammy's long-suffering faithful accused the club of being more concerned with staging international cricket and its obvious financial rewards, rather than investing on-the-field.

Glamorgan had to go this way otherwise we could not have existed as a county Glamorgan director of cricket Matthew Maynard

But without the international cricket dollar, Glamorgan faced a bleak future and their commercial and financial director Alan Hamer insisted it was a gamble the club had to take.

"The future for Glamorgan is far healthier now than it was two years ago when the club was going nowhere," said Hamer.

"I know some people don't like change and we've had a few accusations that the club was concentrating too much on getting international matches - but that is not the case.

"Previously the club was not sustainable.

"The losses over the last ten years ranged between £80,000 and £150,000 a year and over a period of ten years about £800,000 was lost.

"Cricket clubs are not run like football clubs where they have rich benefactors, so if the books don't balance, you feared for the club's consequences.

"If we wanted to compete with the best something had to change."

Glamorgan are already reaping corporate rewards thanks to their new stadium, and the Ashes Test - the jewel in their crown - does not start until 8 July - while the club reported record profits in its last financial year.

The county invested a "substantial" sum, reportedly in the £3m region, to stage their first Ashes Test this summer but Hamer insists the club will make a seven-figure profit for hosting one of cricket's showpiece occasions.

Glamorgan have a deal with the England and Wales Cricket Board to stage international cricket for another seven years, with a guarantee of 11 days of international cricket between 2012 and 2016.

We would have been a floundering county team in a dilapidated stadium with declining membership and both the members and the players would have become disillusioned Glamorgan's commercial and financial director Alan Hamer

The ambitious club is currently considering putting together a bid to host a 2013 Ashes match and other Test matches as each five-day game generates an estimated £1m profit.

"The more money we generate from international matches, the more money gets ploughed back into the team so we can compete with the big counties," Hamer told BBC Sport.

"Our revenue a few years ago was around the £3m mark, last year it was £6.7m and this year it will be over £10m.

"It is scary to think what would have happened to Glamorgan if the county had not have taken this course of action.

"Two years ago we were on the verge of being insolvent and another year's worth of losses would have pushed us into financial trouble.

"We would have been a floundering county team in a dilapidated stadium with declining membership and both the members and the players would have become disillusioned.

"We're now going to become a major player in cricket."

Matthew Maynard, a stalwart of the county's golden era during the late 1990s and early 2000s, understandably agrees as Glamorgan's current cricket director helps guide his team in transition through turbulent times.

The former Glamorgan captain oversaw a big improvement last season following a couple of seasons in the doldrums as they made the Twenty20 Cup quarter-final and reached the Pro40 League play-off.

He said: "Glamorgan had to go this way otherwise we could not have existed as a county.

"We're all working to see Glamorgan successful and international cricket is part of that.

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"The more money counties make as an international venue, the bigger cricket budgets they have. And with bigger cricket budgets, the better players you can afford. It's a cycle."

And Hamer insisted: "Any money the club makes will be reinvested, we don't build up reserves or pay dividends to anyone, we're about investing in facilities and our teams.

"We have invested in the playing squad and the team has to be successful as it goes hand-in-hand with commercial revenue."

Glamorgan's major sponsors have signed 10-year deals with the club while corporate box customers have five-year agreements to ensure the cash keeps flowing once the Ashes becomes a distant memory.

"Getting the Ashes was depending on the stadium and the stadium was dependant on the Ashes Test match," said Hamer.

"So Glamorgan's bright future would not be possible without international cricket.

"The Ashes has secured the long-term future of Glamorgan cricket club."

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