James Taylor, who will captain his country for the first time against Ireland on Friday 8 May, says it’s time for England to put the World Cup behind them. 

The Nottinghamshire batsman is calling on England’s inexperienced side, which won’t include those selected for the forthcoming third test in the West Indies, to treat the match in Dublin as a fresh start.

“To be given the opportunity to lead your country is a huge honour,” Taylor said.

“Obviously the circumstances mean this is slightly different, with Morgs (Eoin Morgan) at the IPL and the other lads in the West Indies, so I doubt it’s quite the same feeling as it would be if I was the one. 

“But never mind that, it was still a huge thrill to hear that I’d been chosen. 

“There are still some very experienced and talented cricketers in that team who I’d have been delighted to have as my captain, so it is a privilege and one I’m going to relish. It’s going to be brilliant leading an England team in a one-day international.

“I’ve had quite a bit of captaincy experience with the Lions, on tour and at home, and I’ve always enjoyed the added responsibility of leading from the front. 

“That will be the case again for this game, because it’s going to be really tough. 

“Ireland have always relished the chance to play England at home – I’ve played in a couple of games over there before – and obviously they’re going to have confidence from what they achieved in the World Cup.

“But I see this as an exciting time for England as well. 

“We have to put the World Cup behind us – not ignore it, but learn from what went on, and put it to bed. This is a fresh start. It has to be a fresh start.”

Taylor, who is joined by Nottinghamshire teammate Alex Hales in the squad for Dublin, admits the countdown to the 2019 World Cup in England is already underway, but he currently prefers to focus on more sort-term aspirations.

“I know people are talking about the next World Cup in 2019, and obviously that’s something every English cricketer would want to experience with it being on home soil,” he said.

“But I actually think that’s looking too far ahead. We’ve got a massive summer coming up, against New Zealand and Australia in both test and one-day cricket.

“Then the year after that it’s the Champions Trophy in England, and I think we have to see that as the next step for us as a one-day team rather than the World Cup – it breaks up the four years nicely.

“When you think of the guys we’ve got out in the West Indies, to see the quality of the squad we’re taking to Ireland is exciting for English cricket. 

“We’ve got guys with lots of international experience and others, who are fairly new on the international stage, with huge talent and potential. It’s exciting for me to be part of that, especially as captain.”

With a first-class batting average of a shade below 47, Taylor is very much an all-formats rather than limited-overs specialist cricketer, and he admits to being disappointed not to have been selected for the test match tour of the West Indies.

“It has been an up and down few months for me, with what happened at the World Cup, and then being left out of the West Indies tour. 

“That was massively disappointing, there’s no point pretending it wasn’t. 

“But I’ve spoken to Mooresy and I understand it – they were only taking one spare batter and with Lythy being the opening batsman I understand why they took him.

“I’ve had to knuckle back down at Notts, and now this has happened so early in the season, I’m delighted.”

 

Trent Bridge hosts the fourth Royal London One-Day International between England and New Zealand on Wednesday 17 June. Don't miss the chance to watch England seek redemption against the Kiwis and secure your seat now.