Namibian opening bowler Rudy van Vuuren will not be satisfied with participating in the Cricket World Cup in the summer of 2003 - he wants to compete in the rugby version a few months later too.
Van Vuuren did travel to the last Rugby World Cup in 1999, but as a reserve flyhalf and didn't play.
At 29 and with flyhalf still a problem area for the Namibian side he feels he has a chance to line up in the number 10 jersey against the world's best should his country qualify for the World Cup in the Antipodes.
Namibia completed a fairytale rise in cricket last month when they claimed one of three World Cup spots up for grabs in the ICC (International Cricket Conference) Trophy for second-tier members in Toronto.
The Namibians had to play their way out of the B group in the Canadian tournament and then they beat A group sides Bermuda, Canada, Scotland, the Netherlands and the United Arab Emirates to get into the final. The ultimate match proved a bridge too far as they lost to the Dutch after being in a good position to win, but they qualified for the 2003 event along with their conquerors and hosts Canada.
Van Vuuren, although he did not feature that prominently in the wicket-taking stakes - he did pick up four for 31 against Scotland - played a valuable role by bowling a good line and successfully helping his side defend smallish totals as they headed for qualification.
As a general practitioner in Windhoek, a month spent away from home for a cricket tournament can mean a significant financial sacrifice, but the all-rounder believes it is worth very moment.
"You can't have your bread buttered on both sides, I suppose. In any case my practice partners are quite accommodating while I'm away," says Van Vuuren.
There are pressures on his personal life, too. Although he has been married for seven months he has seen his wife Marlice for only three of those.
"Her family has a lion farm, so she's been travelling a lot doing commercials and the latest Leon Schuster movie. When she came back from those projects recently, I went off to Canada."
Van Vuuren played rugby at Stellenbosch University while qualifying as a doctor in the early 1990s, and his younger brother Pieter has recently played for Western Province.
"Johan Saayman, who played flyhalf for Namibia in the 1999 World Cup, is part of a big contingent of Namibians currently playing in the Boland.
"If I am fit, it would be great to play in both World Cups in one year," is Van Vuuren's matter-of-fact take on what would be a unique achievement.
He has played about 20 international cricket matches for Namibia and, interestingly, was banned from the game for a year in 1999 for striking an opponent with a bat.
Off a very small player base - with the national cricket team coming from the four strong Windhoek clubs - Namibia have done exceptionally well to qualify as the fourth African nation in the World Cup (with hosts South Africa, Zimbabwe and Kenya).
Captain Danie Keulder, top run-scorer at the Toronto tournament last month, believes that already there has been an upsurge in interest.
"We had about 15 players (of the required standard) contending for the national team in the past. Now it's more like 23 or 24 and getting bigger," he says. "They're all pushing like hell to get into the teamE there's no room for complacency now."
There is a strong Stellenbosch connection in the team. Apart from Van Vuuren, veteran left-arm spinner Lennie Louw, a former WP B player, now 41, is player-coach.
Wicketkeeper Melt van Schoor is a policeman, and the ranks include a post office technician, a waiter and the odd young player without long-term employment.
Keulder and team off-spinner Deon Kotze have been running a private cricket school for scholars for about five years.
"There is a similar school in Walvis Bay now, and others may be starting in the other regions too. Our national junior sides have been doing well, and after what's happened in Canada there's plenty of interest and a lot of hard work to do," says Keulder.
That is a view shared by Namibian Cricket Board president Laurie Pieters, and he views the task of growing the game with relish.
Just one problem is the huge distances teams have to travel to play their weekend one-day games. "In the north if Otjiwarongo play Oshakati it's a 500km drive one way," says Pieters.
It is clear that Namibian cricket values greatly its association with the United Cricket Board of South Africa.
Pieters points to the experience gained by especially the younger players from playing in the UCB's Bowl - provincial B section - competition.
Some players have developed while at South African universities and one or two have spent time at provincial academies this side of the border.
Says Keulder: "The fact that in the Bowl we play four days in a row (three-day and one-day matches on the same trip) helped us immensely in the ICC Trophy. This experience kept the side together mentally and physically through a demanding programme".
Despite the amateur status of the game, players feel the Namibian cricket authorities will now have to assist younger players in the 18 months left before the 2003 World Cup.
Much could be achieved via promised financial and infrastructural support from the ICC, and it may go as far as the NCB entering into some form of contract with players.
"With some younger players having finished school or completed other studies it is going to be tricky keeping them happy for that period, but we'll have to look at it," says Keulder.
But what of Namibia's prospects in the World Cup? "We are amateurs competing with professionals," says Van Vuuren. "But I would like the guys to see competing in South Africa in 2003 as a stepping-stone which will benefit players of the future.
"I believe a couple of our guys can make it in the bigger league, and if you get exposure you get better. We must try to be competitive. Size does not matter as much as it does in rugby."