Shahriar Nafees is not a big name in the world of cricket, but Ricky Ponting's all-conquering Australians will not easily forget the Bangladeshi left-handed opener

Nafees treated the Australian attack in the opening home Test last year as if he was playing against a mediocre side, scoring a blistering 138 with 19 fours in a superb display of aggressive batting

The attractive stroke-maker is the first Bangladeshi to score three centuries in one-day internationals and is expected to play a big role in his team's World Cup campaign in the Caribbean

If he provides a brisk start, his team could give a scare or two to big teams

Bangladesh need to win at least two matches in Group B, comprising India, Sri Lanka and debutants Bermuda, to make it to the next round

They have good middle-order batsmen in skipper Habibul Bashar, Aftab Ahmed and Mohammad Ashraful, but need fireworks from the openers to boost their chances

Nafees has the shots to dominate any attack on his day, although he has been playing international cricket for only two years

He has already shown it against Australia

His controlled aggression saw his team post 355 on the first day itself, an achievement of sort considering the Australian attack comprised Brett Lee, Jason Gillespie and Shane Warne

"When you come out with a hundred against them (Australia), it's simply a great, great feeling," Nafees said of his maiden hundred in Tests as well as in first-class cricket

"And when players like Adam Gilchrist and Ricky Ponting congratulated me saying that it was a well-paced hundred, my joy knew no bound

" His Test century against Australia was not his only innings of substance against the formidable opponents

He made an impressive 75 against them in a tri-series match at Canterbury in 2005

Nafees was 19 when he made his one-day and Test debuts in 2005

He initially struggled to capitalise on good starts, but learnt and improved with every match

He solved half of Bangladesh's problems of finding an effective pair of openers with his consistency, especially last year

Nafees looked a more confident batsman after his Test heroics against Australia and scored three centuries in one-day internationals, all coming in consecutive matches against Zimbabwe

He was the star performer against Zimbabwe at home last year in his team's 5-0 sweep, Bangladesh's first in one-day internationals

Nafees was nominated for the International Cricket Council's "Emerging Player of the Year" award last year following his impressive show in Tests and one-dayers

He was also named his country's "Cricketer of the Year" in 2006, but his real test will be in the Caribbean