Ireland all-rounder Barry McCarthy is acutely aware that the upcoming Cricket World Cup Qualifier tournament will be a "cut-throat" affair.
The Irish side are in Zimbabwe where they will be competing in one of two five-team groups.
The top three in each pool will advance to the Super Six stage of the qualifiers, before the remaining nations battle for the last two spots available for the World Cup which will be hosted by India across October and November.
Ireland begin their Group B campaign against Oman on Monday, 19 June in Bulawayo, before facing Scotland, Sri Lanka and the United Arab Emirates at the same venue between then and 27 June.
Speaking to RTÉ Sport's John Kenny, McCarthy was under no illusion about how difficult the challenge will be.
"It is a cut-throat tournament and it does start from day one," he said.
"There's no trying to build momentum from the start and then try to get going. You have to hit the ground running come Monday for us when we play Oman.
"We had a good warm-up game yesterday [Tuesday, against the USA], we have another game on Thursday [against the Netherlands] which will hopefully stand us in good stead there.
"But it is going to be a tense tournament. It's going to be a tough month for us really. We know, along with a lot of teams, that we're up against it.
"We're all fighting for two spots for the World Cup in India in October. The reward at the end of it is huge. We all know that and we're going to dig deep throughout the whole unit and give it our best and hopefully get there come the end of the tournament."
McCarthy, who has returned to action following knee surgery three months ago, also praised team-mate Harry Tector who has enjoyed a meteoric rise in the last couple of years and hit an unbeaten 149 on Tuesday to steer Ireland to a five-wicket victory over the United States in the first warm-up match.
"I'm not one bit surprised with where Harry is in the world," he said.
"When he first came into the inter-provincial set-up with the Northern Knights, because there was no place for him in the Leinster Lightning's side, he very quickly got his opportunity at international cricket and took to it like a duck to water.
"He's been phenomenal to watch over the last couple of months but I think Harry will tell you the same thing, that going into a tournament like that, where you are in the world now, means nothing and it's starting fresh on Monday when we come to play Oman.
"But it's always nice to get off to a big start and 140-odd [runs] yesterday will set him in good stead going forward. He's been brilliant to watch."
