James Taylor expects Ireland to give his inexperienced England side a “massive test” when they meet in the Royal London one-day international in Malahide tomorrow.
Taylor will skipper England for the very first time, in the absence of Eoin Morgan, and could have as many as five players making their international debuts under his guidance.
The 25-year-old right-hander has a strong belief in the emerging talent that the selectors have turned to, but is also aware of the threat Ireland pose.
The Irish again proved their growing status on the international stage when they narrowly missed out on reaching the group stages of the World Cup.
“They showed what talent they have got in the World Cup against some good teams out there,” Taylor told ecb.co.uk.
“They played really well and they’ve got a number of guys who have played a number of years in county cricket.
“We know it is going to be a massive test but I’ve got the guys behind me with exceptional talent that are going to give them a good run for their money.”
David Willey, James Vince, Sam Billings, Lewis Gregory and Zafar Ansari are all uncapped at international level while the hard-hitting Jason Roy has played just one Twenty20 international.
Taylor is looking forward to how the young-guns fare as England begin the start of a new four-year cycle before the next World Cup on home soil.
“There are plenty of fresh faces and some young and exciting talent the whole way through the squad,” he said.
“The guys have performed exceptionally well at the start of the season already so it’s going to be really exciting.
“I think it is a fresh start and a new era for England cricket. We can park the World Cup and put that firmly behind us and look forward to a fresh start.”
Taylor was part of the England team that claimed a six-wicket win over Ireland in Malahide four years ago.
Centuries from Morgan and Ravi Bopara steered England home after a sticky start, but both will miss this game due to their Indian Premier League commitments.
“It was an exciting game - we were massively up against it,” Taylor said.
“Come the second innings we were four down pretty early and then Eoin Morgan and Ravi Bopara did what they do best and blitzed the ball to all parts and got us over the line with a few overs to spare.
“The atmosphere out there was unbelievable so I’m sure it will be the same again.”
Ansari, Bairstow and Billings are having a hit in Malahide #IrevEnghttps://t.co/sgWd2TrKIp
— England Cricket (@ECB_cricket) May 7, 2015