Taylor excited to lead ‘new era’ England

Cricket365
May 9, 2015

England batsman James Taylor is looking forward to captaining the side for the first time when they run on against Ireland in an ODI in Dublin on Friday, and says it will be a 'real honour' to lead the side.

Taylor will be captaining England at Malahide in the absence of Eoin Morgan, who is at the IPL, and could be leading as many as six debutants on the day, as England have picked a very young and inexperienced squad,

Taylor said: "It will be a real honour to lead out a young England side and although I have got the job by default because there were a few guys in the West Indies on the Test tour, it is really a special moment.

"But there are plenty of fresh faces and young, exciting talent. It's a new era for England cricket, a chance to park the World Cup and look forward to a fresh start."

Taylor was part of the team that last played against Ireland in 2013, and he hopes the atmosphere and competition will be just as strong again this time, and hopes his newbies will do well against William Porterfield's side.

He added: "It was an exciting game two years ago (at Malahide) but we were four down early (Taylor one of the wickets) and then Eoin Morgan and Ravi Bopara blitzed the ball to all parts and scored two unbelievable hundreds to get us over the line.

"It was a feisty (10,000) crowd and we expect the same atmosphere again.

"Ireland showed the talent they have got at the World Cup against good teams and played really well so we know it will be a massive test, but I have guys behind me who are going to give them a good run for their money."

For his part, Ireland captain Porterfield is hoping to do well to show that his players deserve more chances in the international arena, with a view to becoming a Test-playing side in future.

He said: "We can play a lot more often. The public in Ireland are crying out for that as well, to see more cricket against the top-ten teams, especially in Ireland."