Worcestershire all-rounder George Rhodes was delighted to chalk up his maiden half century in Specsavers County Championship cricket against Kent at Canterbury.
Rhodes scored 55 in Worcestershire's second innings and shared an opening stand of 94 with skipper Daryl Mitchell.
It was achieved in only his second Championship match and his first as opener in place of the injured Brett D'Oliveira.
But Worcestershire lost wickets at regular intervals after the first wicket pair had been parted and closed on 213-6 – still 27 runs short of making Kent bat again.
Rhodes told BBC Hereford-Worcester's Dave Bradley: "It was a great feeling to get to fifty. It would probably have been a bit of a better feeling if we hadn't lost those six wickets.
"But I really enjoyed it out there and was glad to sort of take my opportunity.
"I knew I was opening on the way down here. Mitch mentioned it to me. He just said 'get your head around opening.'
"It was a nice experience for me against some good bowlers. I enjoyed it."
Rhodes scored a patient 16 off 105 balls in the first innings but was a lot more fluent in Worcestershire's second innings and went to his half century off 103 balls with seven fours.
He was eventually bowled by Kent all-rounder Will Gidman.
Rhodes said: "The pitch wasn't easy to start with. It was quite tennis bally. I think first innings I was a bit more watchful.
"Time at the crease does help and I was a little bit more confident looking for runs second innings."
Rhodes had made a positive impact in white ball cricket before being handed his chance in the four-day format.
But when asked if he would like to open, Rhodes said he was happy to bat "anywhere."
He said: "Brett has had such a fantastic season and he deserves to be opening and I don't deserve to be opening at the moment.
"It will be great to see him back to be honest and scoring runs. He is a fantastic player and has got a bright future ahead of him."
