Eoin Morgan expects his new-look England one-day team to continue their upward trajectory by learning on the job against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates.
A four-match 50-over series commences tomorrow in Abu Dhabi, with Pakistan the latest test for an England side who - following a poor World Cup campaign - came on leaps and bounds over the summer.
New Zealand were beaten in a thrilling series which saw England score 400 in a one-day international for the first time, before world champions Australia were taken to a deciding game in a keenly-fought five-match rubber.
However, Morgan knows further improvement will be needed in the alien conditions of the Middle East.
I think it will be a huge learning curve, Morgan said.
That's one thing we've gained over the last six months - we've created an atmosphere in which learning becomes very easy for our young guys coming in.
Probably no-one would have given us a hope in hell against Australia and New Zealand. But they were two very competitive series, and we managed to turn over New Zealand.
It was a very productive summer for us, in which we've seen a lot of our youngsters [came up with] some unbelievable performances.
This, again, will be different, but I think the culture and the platform the summer gave us will hold us in good stead.
Morgan will be returning to action for the first time since retiring hurt after being struck by a Mitchell Starc bouncer in the fifth ODI against Australia.
And while the 29-year-old left-hander admits he was left shaken by the incident at the time, England's captain has no concerns about any short-pitched bowling he may face from Wahab Riaz and co.
At the time, it was quite concerning, added Morgan.
The ball hit me quite hard. I still look back at it now - and hats off, it was a pretty good delivery, that's how I look at it.
I've done a lot of short-ball practice since then. I'm quite confident going into this series that I've progressed.
It was about 10 days before I was, I suppose, myself - balance, grogginess, it was a really weird feeling.
It's worrying, to be honest, because the feeling of concussion is something I've never had before.
I suppose being in that position, having never been in it before, worried me a little.
I suppose you start building up confidence again in the nets, I did that about three weeks ago, did quite a lot of work in indoor schools on quicker surfaces, which hopefully prepare you for that event again, to judge it in a better way.
England's last one-day series in this part of the world ended in a 4-0 win over Pakistan, but Morgan insists that will have no bearing on the current campaign.
They're always very challenging, a very capable side, he said of Pakistan.
We've had some interesting series in the past. They offer a huge amount of skill, you've seen at the World Cup they're a very capable side, turning over loads of teams.
They offer a different challenge, a varied amount of spin, reverse swing and these conditions enhance that challenge.
The last time we were here, we did become better cricketers by the end of the tour, particularly our batters, playing against spin was a huge challenge.
I think that will remain the same, but the team we have here is completely different to the team we had then.
It's a matter of learning throughout the series and posing enough questions to put pressure on Pakistan.
England will return to The SSE SWALEC in Cardiff next year for the Royal London One-Day Internationals against Sri Lanka and Pakistan. Adult tickets start at £35 with further discounts in place for families and under 17s.
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