Ireland v Pakistan: Porterfield excited for Test bow at Malahide

William Porterfield made his Ireland debut against Namibia in 2006

Ireland captain William Porterfield says there will be a "few emotions knocking around" on Friday in the team's inaugural Test against Pakistan.

And the former Warwickshire batsman is targeting a shock win over the tourists at Malahide, north of Dublin.

"We know how big an occasion it will be and what Test cricket means to every nation," said Porterfield.

"We're preparing to win the game - there's absolutely no reason why in our own conditions we can't beat Pakistan."

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It's been a long journey to Test status for the Irish and Porterfield believes his team can compete at the highest level.

He added: "It's a Test, it's called that for a reason, it's a test of everyone's attitude and mental ability towards the game.

"We've got a lot of those boxes ticked off and we're confident that we can beat any nation on any given day.

"They will go in as favourites but we know we've got everything we need to win a game of cricket, especially in our own conditions.

"It still looks like it's going to be a pretty decent wicket. Like any May pitch in Ireland there will be a bit of sideways movement, and we'll be looking to utilise that. If we can utilise that and take 20 wickets we can win the game."

County Ground win

Pakistan warmed up for the Test by drawing with Kent before securing a nine-wicket victory over Northamptonshire.

A two-Test series against England follows the game against Ireland and Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed believes it will be tough to beat the 'boys in green'.

"We are very happy to play a historic Test match in Ireland and hopeful to have a good match - our preparations have been very good," he said.

"The Ireland guys know how to play four-day cricket, so it is not easy to beat them. All the pressure is on us because we are the Test team.

"We will have to play well to win. Conditions are very different to Pakistan and hopefully the weather is good and we'll play good cricket. We would love to play Ireland in Pakistan."

Ireland Test squad: William Porterfield (capt), Andrew Balbirnie, Ed Joyce, Tyrone Kane, Andrew McBrine, Tim Murtagh, Kevin O'Brien, Niall O'Brien (wk), Boyd Rankin, James Shannon, Craig Young, Paul Stirling, Stuart Thompson, Gary Wilson (wk).

Pakistan Test squad: Sarfraz Ahmed (capt & wk), Asad Shafiq, Azhar Ali, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Sohail, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Amir, Rahat Ali, Saad Ali, Sami Aslam, Shadab Khan, Usman Salahuddin.