As millions rose to applaud Hazlewood’s heroics, the kids in his home town Bendemeer cheered louder than most.

For this tiny village of less than 500 people, the feat – considered the bowling equivalent of scoring a century – was one to savour.

A banner yesterday hung proudly at the entrance to the village, proclaiming “Bendemeer’s Josh Hazlewood gets his baggy green!”, while punters at the local hotel sat glued to a small TV set.

Jack Nielsen, 12, and his mates were so inspired by Hazlewood’s demolition of the Indian batsmen, they set up a game of backyard cricket, taking turns to bowl like their hero.

“It’s pretty big. We’re really inspired by what he’s done,” Jack said.

“I used to see him around the town and chat to him. It’s hard to believe he’s so famous now.”

Jack’s mate Brendan Donnelly used to live next door to Hazlewood in Caroline St and said he would often poke his head over the fence for a chat.

Bendemeer Public School principal Rebecca Hancock said the former pupil’s feats had captured the imagination of the whole school.

“The kids are so excited because they can relate to him,” Ms Hancock said.

“The cricket nets he learned the game in are the same ones they play in now.”

Hazlewood, 23, becomes just the 33rd Australian player in history to grab five wickets on debut.