Having lots of potential means very little until it is fulfilled, and Michael Durand took a step closer to such fulfillment when finally breaking into the senior Namibia side in October 2007 for their Intercontinental Cup victory over Canada.

Although he hardly set the world alight in that match, he did pick up a wicket in his sole over in the first innings as well as showing good agility in the field, taking three catches.

He represented Namibia in the 2002 Under-19 World Cup where his form was slow to start with but improved throughout the tournament, culminating with scores of 53 not out in the win over Canada and 48 in the defeat to Zimbabwe.

He also collected 3 for 21 versus Canada, helping him to a tournament average of 21.33 with the ball. He then toured Zimbabwe with the full side in 2004 but in matches against Zimbabwe A and Zimbabwe Under-19s he did not bowl and batted at 10, only coming to the crease twice.

Now that he has come back into contention, after missing out on selection for the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean, the time could be right for him to nail down a place for the next few years.

Alan Curr November 2007