The Swalec Stadium has had �3m of improvements during the winter

Paul Russell says preparations for July's Ashes Test in Cardiff are going to plan despite the odd setback.

The Glamorgan chairman firmly believes Cardiff will be able to compete favourably with other Test grounds.

After the first day of Glamorgan's first home match against Derbyshire there were some problems with the new hover cover.

"We passed our exam if not quite achieving a distinction," Russell told BBC Wales.

Although the outfield, which had £600,000 of drainage work done on it in the close season, stood up to some torrential rain, the most worrying problem was the hover cover which the groundstaff had problems getting off the field.

606: DEBATE What do you think of the Swalec Stadium as a Test venue?

There was a few red faces especially as four overs of the day were lost because of that delay.

"We did have some bad weather [on Wednesday] to contend with. So we were able to test our systems," explained Russell, who instigated a total of £3m of ground improvements in the winter ahead of the Ashes Test on 8 July.

"We had a number of issues, one of which was that the motor on the hover cover was slightly out of balance but the engineers have cured that.

"All in all I was delighted and the simple fact of the matter is that last year [Wednesday's] play would have been abandoned at four o'clock. As it was we began not long after five and had another two hours cricket."

Russell admitted he still has plenty of pre-Ashes nerves but believes everything is under control for the England v Australia clash.

"I'm nervous about a number of things but I was always taught that if you are not nervous you are not taking it seriously," he added.

"There are a number of things we have to manage and manage very carefully on the days of the Ashes Test.

"We can't manage the weather but what we can manage is the effect of the weather."

One thing Russell is determined to do is make sure the crowd - the biggest ever seen at the Swalec Stadium go home satisfied.

"We have to ensure that the customer experience is second to none, such that people are going to talk about Test matches at Cardiff in the same vein as they talk about Lord's, The Oval and Headingley.

"And that we are no longer seen as interlopers but we are the established part of the scene."

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