Eoin Morgan hopes to be back leading England at next year's T20 World Cup after New Zealand narrowly ended his side's hopes of glory at the 2021 tournament.
New Zealand claimed a dramatic five-wicket victory in the first semi-final, chasing down 167 to book a place in the final against either Pakistan or Australia.
The 2022 event in Australia will offer England another opportunity to get over the line in the shortest form of the international game, having also suffered heartbreak in 2016 when they lost the final to West Indies.
Morgan will be 36 by then but still expects to be leading England, who are seeking another title on the global stage after their famous 50-over Cricket World Cup success in 2019.
"I hope to be back, I am still offering enough within the side and I absolutely love playing cricket at the moment for this changing room," Morgan said after the defeat.
"The guys give absolutely everything; they are always looking to get better.
"They are at the forefront of change both on and off the field and we have a lot of things to be proud about – not just on the field – so I am incredibly proud to be their leader.
"I can't fault anything that we've done, we have fought unbelievably hard and represented ourselves well, but came up short.
"I am incredibly proud of the guys – they have given absolutely everything throughout this tournament."
It was Daryl Mitchell's brilliant unbeaten half-century that put New Zealand into a first T20 World Cup final.
England posted 166-4 after being put in by Kane Williamson, Moeen Ali top scoring with 51 not out off 37 balls and Dawid Malan (41 from 30) also playing a big hand.
New Zealand were in big trouble on 13-2 early in the run chase but a stand of 82 between Mitchell and Devon Conway (46 from 38) put the game in the balance.
A pulsating contest swung in New Zealand's favour when Chris Jordan conceded 23 runs from a 17th over that saw Jimmy Neesham (27 off 10) cut loose, and Mitchell (72no from 47) sent the Black Caps – who had needed 57 to win off the final four overs – through with six balls to spare.
Morgan felt his side were in with a chance until the final moments, adding: "We knew both sides were close in skill and play a good brand of cricket.
"Full credit to Kane and his team, they outplayed us – unfortunately we have come out the wrong side in a tight game.
"It's hard to identify the key moments, I thought we were right in the game through our innings and then right until the 17th or 18th over. It was key at the end – they built up until they had to push the button, then it came good, their game plan came off.
"Up until that point we had held them at bay to give ourselves a chance of winning.
"It was a sluggish pitch and we struggled to hit sixes when we batted, we hung in there, changed our game plan, adapted to conditions and posted probably a par score.
"We felt in the game at the halfway stage and then we took early wickets so it couldn't have been any better [at that stage].
"To have an ability to come out and hit sixes from ball one like [Neesham] is something not many people have so full credit to him, it swayed the game."
“We have the manpower within the dressing room”- Sammy confident Windies can overcome 0-2 deficit against England
West Indies white ball head coach Daren Sammy says there’s still optimism in his camp that they can overcome the 0-2 deficit they currently face in their five-game T20I series against England.
The hosts lost the first two game of the series at the Kensington Oval in Barbados on Saturday and Sunday, with the rest of the series now shifting to the Daren Sammy Stadium in St. Lucia beginning with the third T20I on Thursday.
“Most definitely, especially here in St. Lucia,” Sammy said in a pre-match interview on Tuesday regarding his team’s optimism ahead of Thursday’s must-win game and the rest of the series.
“Yes, England have played better cricket than us in these first two games but I’ve rallied St. Lucia to come out and be the 12th man that we need here. We just haven’t played the brand of cricket that has allowed us to win and it’s something that we’re going to address but we have the manpower within that dressing room to win on Thursday and take it one game at a time,” he added.
The West Indies will be without two key players for the rest of the series in Andre Russell and Shamar Joseph.
Russell suffered an ankle injury in the first T20I on Saturday and has been ruled out for the rest of the series while Joseph has left the squad to prepare for the upcoming Test series against Bangladesh starting on November 22 in Antigua.
Replacing the pair are all-rounder Shamar Springer and spearhead Alzarri Joseph, returning to the squad after serving a two-game suspension.
“It’s always a blow to replace somebody like Andre Russell. We have young Shamar Springer who made his debut in Sri Lanka to replace him. He’s a really exciting prospect,” Sammy said.
“Shamar will go in and get ready for the Test series and Alzarri is back from his suspension. We’re looking forward to welcoming him and the experience he brings to the squad. Yes, we lose two key guys but we get two guys who are capable of doing the job for the team as well,” he added.
Harwood-Bellis 'didn't quite believe' first senior England call-up
Taylor Harwood-Bellis revealed he was in a state of disbelief when he was told about his first call-up to the England senior team last week.
Harwood-Bellis, along with Newcastle's Lewis Hall, received their maiden Three Lions call-ups in Lee Carsley's final squad as interim head coach.
The Southampton defender has impressed under Russell Martin this season, featuring in all of their Premier League fixtures so far this season.
Harwood-Bellis has won more aerial duels (13) for the Saints in the top-flight this term, with only Jan Bednarek (888) completing more passes than the 22-year-old (684).
He is also someone well known to the interim boss from his time in charge of England's Under-21's side, with his 21 appearances more than any other player during Carsley's tenure in the current Three Lions squad.
"Lee Carsley rang me in the morning and said, 'you'll be with us, with the seniors'. I didn't quite believe it at first," he told a press conference.
"My partner was next to me and I phoned my dad, who was very proud. He loves when I play for England, even the younger age groups.
"One of the first people to message me was Aaron Ramsdale. I was happy to see his name as he's one of my mates at the club."
Unfortunately for Harwood-Bellis, Ramsdale has since pulled out of the squad with a finger injury and has been replaced by Burnley's James Trafford.
England travel to Athens to take on Group B2 leaders Greece on Thursday before returning to Wembley three days later as they square off against the Republic of Ireland.
With a number of first-team regulars out through injury, Harwood-Bellis has the opportunity to become the first Saints player to represent England since Kyle Walker-Peters did so back in 2022.
The defender understood the potential ramifications of performing well for the Three Lions during this international break, with Thomas Tuchel taking over in the new year.
"It will be a big motivation for all of the lads, knowing that there's a new manager coming in and wanting to keep your spot," he said.
"That's something that especially the younger lads will be pushing towards.
"It's going to be difficult because of the quality and experience in some of the lads that aren't here is massive.
"It'll be difficult, but it'll be something that I'll focus on week in and week out for Southampton and if I get minutes here."
Springboks aiming to have 'two best teams in the world', says Esterhuizen
South Africa centre Andre Esterhuizen said that the Springboks are aiming to have "the two best teams in the world" ahead of their Autumn Nations Series clash against England.
The world champions were pushed all the way by Scotland in their narrow victory at Murrayfield on Sunday, though head coach Rassie Erasmus opted to rotate some key starting positions.
South Africa captain Siya Kolisi and flanker Pieter-Steph du Toit started on the bench, with the changes a common theme during Erasmus' seven-year tenure.
Their opening Autumn Nations Series victory also put them back on top of the world rankings after Ireland's first defeat in 19 home games by New Zealand on Friday.
"One of the good things is that everyone is getting game time now," Esterhuizen told the BBC's Rugby Union Weekly podcast.
"It is also about looking forward, you've got to be able to spare all the guys for the next World Cup and build experience into it.
"The aim is to have the two best teams in the world, all in one squad.
"We want to make it second nature for people slotting in, so if someone steps in, they can just slot in and play the same if not better than the other player."
South Africa next face England, who are yet to pick up a win this autumn, at Twickenham on Saturday.
Steve Borthwick's side suffered a narrow two-point defeat by New Zealand, before conceding an injury-time winning try to Australia on Saturday.
England have now lost each of their last four Test matches, their longest such run since losing five straight games in 2018, but Esterhuizen's former Harlequins team-mate Marcus Smith has been impressive for the Red Roses.
"It's a great space, I obviously love to play there," Esterhuizen added. "It will be great to be running at Marcus, not run off him.
"It's going to be a great match, England have played well in the last few games, it's unfortunate that it hasn't been the results that they want. I think it's going to be a big one."
The Springboks have won three of their last four matches against England (L1), including each of their last two. Three of the last five games between England and South Africa have been decided by single-point margins.
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