Two of the titans of U.K. cricket are coming to The Atkinson, Southport with a side splitting show full of memories from within the Test Match Special commentary box.

B.B.C. cricket legends Henry Blofeld and Peter Baxter are in Southport on the 21st June 2013 as part of their theatre tour of a brand new humorous show detailing their exploits in the commentary box from the last 40 years. For the first time in public, Henry Blofeld and Peter Baxter are set to wow the crowds with their hilarious cricketing tales.

Henry Blofeld, O.B.E., is one of international cricket’s best loved broadcasters. His immediately recognisable voice and ability to paint pictures with words have been in demand all over the world since the 1970s. At 72, he is still on the Test Match Special Team and will broadcast from Lords and Trent Bridge in May.

Peter Baxter was the organising brain behind and Producer of the B.B.C. Test Match Special from 1973 to 2007. He was frequently part of the commentary team and whilst he enjoyed many amusing moments over the years, being locked out of the ground by the groundsman at Galle in Sri Lanka, in 2001 was not one of them. He and the B.B.C. Cricket correspondent Jonathan Agnew eventually watched the action from a nearby fort!

Henry Blofeld said, “Test Match Special is as much fun to be part of in the commentary box as most people seem to think it is to listen to. But, in the box itself there are two different perspectives and with Blowers and Backers on stage they will both come together with, we hope, gales of laughter. Backers produced the show for 34 years, for all of which he was my boss. He brings the ‘behind-the-scenes’ adventures he had in the production process to join my in-front-of-the-microphone stories
and high jinks. Our blend of stories about TMS at home and abroad will be hilarious and Backers had better watch it as now, at long last, he is no longer my boss!”

Peter Baxter added, “Test Match Special has always been like a family – and the listeners are part of that family. And like all families, there are so many stories of the characters in it. The two of us have been having a lot of fun talking about all the funny things that have happened during our 35 years together on the programme and we’re really looking forward to sharing that fun with audiences round the country.”

Tickets for this very special event at The Atkinson in Southport are priced at £18. Tickets are available by phoning 01704 533333* or book online at www.seftonarts.co.uk*

*Subject to booking fee.