Right move in wrong clothes costs cricket fan $100,000

Ollie Newton took the catch one-handed, but without his T-shirt and lanyard he couldn't claim the $100,000 prize.

Stopping for a drink on the way to the cricket may have cost Wellington man Ollie Newton the prize of a lifetime.

Mr Newton, a tax consultant, was with two mates cheering New Zealand on to victory when a ball hit for six by Jesse Ryder came their way at Wellington's Cake Tin during Wednesday's Twenty20 match against the West Indies.

Despite being midway through a pottle of hot chips, Mr Newton caught the ball cleanly with one hand.

Hundreds of others attending in orange Tui shirts would have won $100,000 for the same catch, but Mr Newton was wearing his work suit.

Mr Newton said he and his friends had stopped for a few drinks on their way to the stadium and, by the time they tried to buy a T-shirt at the gate, they had all been sold.

A competition being run by the Tui brewery over 12 days of cricket offers $100,000 at each game to the first registered person wearing an orange competition shirt and lanyard who makes a clean, one-handed catch of a ball hit for six.

Being caught on television missing out on the prize had resulted in "plenty of banter in the office and from my mates and stuff," Mr Newton said.

Last week, a fan in Hamilton won $100,000 for catching a six hit by West Indian Kieran Powell.

- APN