Aussie firefighter catches glory, singlehandedly

Sydney, Jan 15 (UNI) An Australian firefighter literally caught glory singlehandedly and Paul Houeix is quite a celebrity now after catching a six hit by Adam Gilchrist in Friday's ODI match at MCG.

Houeix's hour of glory came when the cricket fan took the one-handed catch in the crowd while talking on his cellphone.

Houeix, who was taking his young son to his first game, later told the Nine network that he never really thought of catching the meaty hit from Gilchrist off an Andrew Flintoff delivery and that too one-handed.

''As it was coming down I said 'mate it's coming towards me, I think I might catch this'. I was just jumping up and down and saying 'mate I caught it, I caught it, can you see me?'' he said.

Houeix revealed he was flooded with phone calls and messages from friends and family members who had seen his catch on TV.

''It was like glue, it just stuck to the mitt. I had to hang up, I couldn't hear anything afterwards. I got about 50,000 text messages and calls after that. I was on the phone for about the next two hours,'' Houeix said.

Houeix said he was a former wicketkeeper who gave up the game after a few years and was involved in fighting the Victorian bushfires before Christmas.

UNI