AS the country celebrates England's Ashes victory, there's an opportunity to soak up more cricketing magic at an event in the North-East.

Henry "Blowers" Blofeld, the doyen of cricket commentators and familiar voice of Test Match Special, brings his show, An Evening With Blowers, to Hartlepool Town Hall Theatre on Friday, October 7.

Hartlepool is the only northern venue he has booked this autumn, and tickets are going quicker than Aussie wickets.

Blowers, who has commentated on this year's gripping Ashes series, will leave the safety of the commentary box for the spotlight of the stage for an evening of light-hearted anecdotes.

Claire Munroe, of Hartlepool Borough Council's Arts and Museums Service, said: "We're delighted to welcome Blowers to Hartlepool.

"With everyone going Ashes crazy, the timing just couldn't be better.

"It's a must for every cricket fan."

The event starts at 7.30pm and tickets cost £11, or £10 for concessions. To book, call the box office on (01429) 890000.

It is the second time Hartlepool has been in the cricket spotlight this year - earlier in the summer, it welcomed Shane Warne, Ian Botham and David Gower to the Historic Quay and HMS Trincomalee for the filming of Sky Sports' Ashes trailer.