What is 'potential' (and how did I squander mine)?

When I was a budding young cricketer in 1980s Hobart (see photo, right, about to go out to bat), I was told I had ‘potential,’ but although I did score three centuries in various grades at my club, I wasn't consistent and played less than a dozen games at a first-grade level where my top score was 33.

Why did my so-called potential not translate into bet…