Hampshire: England all-rounder David Willey on Thursday after taking his maiden five-wicket haul said that his "best cricket is probably still to come".
Willey took 5 for 30 in his first international since being left out of the squad which won the World Cup on home soil last summer.
The 30-year-old's dominating performance guided the hosts to a six-wicket win over Ireland in the first ODI.
Willey said Richard Pyrah, his bowling coach at Yorkshire, invested time in him and feels like he is moving in the "right direction".
"The frustrating thing from us is we kind of knew what to expect from his threats, we knew where he was effective and we weren't managing to negate that and that's the disappointing thing is that we had plans in place," Willey said, before adding, "But whether it was just kind of, first game back, wanting to feel bat on ball, it was just a frustrating start. The wicket was slow enough but it certainly wasn't a 20-odd for five. So that's the disappointing thing from today, certainly with the batting. If you're going to compete with a team like England, 170 just isn't enough."
During the match, Ireland only managed to score 172 runs after being asked to bat first. Sam Billings and Eoin Morgan's unbeaten knocks of 67 and 36 respectively sealed England's win.
Willey further stated, "It was just special to be out there playing for England again. The main priority was to enjoy it. I've gone away and worked quite hard to get back near my best. It's been a rollercoaster, but I was just out there enjoying my cricket today."
The second ODI between England and Ireland will be played on Saturday.
