SALES of England cricket shirts are outstripping the national football team shirts in the wake of the Ashes thrillers.

The North-East is leading the way in terms of sales of official England shirts, with some shop owners struggling to meet the demand.

Asda, which has the biggest stock of England cricket shirts outside the Test match grounds, said three of its North-East stores were among its top ten sellers.

Hartlepool, Boldon near Sunderland, and Bishop Auckland, in County Durham, ranked second, fourth and ninth respectively in terms of sales from its 280 stores.

A spokesman said: "They've been flying off the shelves faster than Freddie Flintoff can bowl one of his deliveries to the Australians.

"We've had to reorder more this week to keep up with demand."

Hartlepool sports shop owner Mike Gough, whose son Michael played professional cricket for Durham, said there had been a vast amount of interest in the shirts. He said he had received a number of requests from customers to order the shirts, but had been frustrated because there was no stock available.

Mr Gough said: "All the shops are saying the same thing. It has caught everyone by surprise.

"I have been trading for 28 years and never seen anything like it. People who don't usually watch cricket have seen the coverage and are ringing up and asking about the shirts.

"Any team that is winning, people like to be associated with it. And this England Test team in the last few matches have been superb."

The shirts, which cost £30, come in Test, one-day international and training versions, and are made by Admiral.