THE phrase ‘once in a lifetime’ is used all too often. However, for Tenbury cricketer Henry Anton it proved very apt as on Saturday he swapped Penlu for Lords and the home of cricket.

The Rugby v Marlborough fixture was one of only two schoolboy matches (the other being Eton v Harrow) that used to be played at Lord's. It stopped being played at Lord's in 1972. However, to mark the 450th anniversary of Rugby School, it was played again at Lord's this year.

Henry, who opens the batting for the Rugby 1st X1 and will captain the side in 2018, (and for Tenbury – for whom he scored his maiden century earlier this season) had the day of his life – using the home dressing room and walking through the famous Long Room on his way to the middle.

It was an opportunity that many professional cricketers never experience in their life time and was a true ‘once in a lifetime’ experience played in front of a crowd of over 1,200.

The match itself was won by Marlborough and, unfortunately the cricketing gods didn’t shine on Henry as he was bowled for 2.

In a message to his godfather, Henry said: “It was comprehensively the best day of my life. I loved every second of it. Walking through the Long Room at Lords is something I will never forget and I feel incredibly lucky to have done it. As more time passes, I will appreciate even more just how lucky I was.”