Marcus Smith does not blame England's narrow defeat to New Zealand on Saturday on George Ford, despite his late missed kicks.

Ford replaced Smith, who had scored 17 points and set up England's only try in their 24-22 loss, hitting a potential match-winning penalty against the post before narrowly missing a drop goal.

England had held an eight-point advantage when Smith left the field, but Mark Tele'a's 76th-minute try before Damian McKenzie added five late points proved enough to get the All Blacks over the line.

The hosts' autumn series got off to a losing start as Ford struggled to find his clinical edge in the dying moments, but Smith does not lay any blame at his team-mate's feet.

"Sometimes that's the life of a kicker, we've all experienced that. It's part and parcel of the job," said Smith.

"I've learned so much off George. He's an unbelievable kicker, both off the tee and out of hand. It was one of those days.

"It's nothing to do with him why we didn't win the game. It's a team effort. Every kicker in the world has experienced that.

"We practise [drop-goals] as kickers every single day, but sometimes it doesn't go for you. We're all human and people miss."

Saturday marked a third consecutive narrow loss to New Zealand for England, with their last win an emphatic victory over Japan in June.

Despite that run, Smith remains confident that England can take lessons from these defeats to set themselves up for success in the future.

"International rugby is very different to the Premiership and the experiences we're experiencing now are very painful, but we'll be better for them," Smith added.

"Keep the faith. We've fallen again on the wrong side of the result, but we'll learn from it 100%.

"These experiences will tighten us as a group, and it will be worth it in the long run. We will be better for it."

West Indies white-ball coach Darren Sammy was both encouraged and frustrated after his team’s five-wicket loss to England in the second ODI in North Sound, Antigua, on Saturday.

Despite a standout batting performance that saw West Indies post a formidable 328-6, Sammy believes missed opportunities in the bowling department ultimately handed England the edge. England chased down the total with relative ease, finishing on 329-5 with captain Liam Livingstone’s masterful unbeaten 124 leading the way.

“It is tough. Obviously, when you put 328 on the board, you expect to win. However, that is the beauty of international cricket; at the halfway stage, when one aspect of the job is done, you can never be complacent about it. Yes, Liam Livingstone played a brilliant innings to get his team home, but I thought as a bowling group our execution was really off, hence we lost a record chase here in Antigua,” Sammy said in a post-game interview.

While disappointed with the loss, Sammy found reasons for optimism, particularly in captain Shai Hope’s exceptional 117—his 17th ODI century—which was the highlight of the innings and pushed him to joint third on the all-time West Indies ODI century list.

Hope received ample support from Keacy Carty (71) and Sherfane Rutherford (54), whose solid contributions underscored the team’s depth in the middle order.

“I think we did some really good things; Shai Hope another 100, the joint fourth most by a West Indian, the way Keacy Carty batted, as well as Sherfane Rutherford making a fourth-consecutive 50. The way Matthew Forde bowled and the way Roston Chase came back after being put under pressure in the second over,” Sammy reasoned.

“So we were right in the game until the last 10 overs, where I think they scored 100 off seven overs; that is not good enough. But I think as a team, it is about understanding where we are at and the small steps that we have to take to improve,” he noted.

With Livingstone anchoring England’s chase alongside contributions from Phil Salt (59), Jacob Bethell (55), and Sam Curran (52), Sammy acknowledged that the West Indies bowling attack could have been more effective in applying pressure to seal the win after Hope’s brilliance.

“I think Shai will be the first one to tell you that it (his knock) doesn’t matter because it came off a losing cause. But, as I said before, Shai Hope is a class act and one of our icons in ODI cricket, but I know he would want nothing more than a win instead of a hundred.

“Again, it (the overall performance) shows that we are still far off but we are making little strides that will help us along our way with the goal that we have moving forward,” Sammy explained.

With the three-match series now tied 1-1, Sammy expressed hope that West Indies will bring their best game to the decider in Barbados on Wednesday.

“This is a rivalry, so we have all to play for at home. The last time we played in Barbados, we made history and won, so I am hoping we can again. It is two young teams looking to develop and get better in ODI cricket. Again, it is all to play for, so if the fans come out and support, in return, we have to give you guys something to smile about in Barbados,” Sammy ended.

Steve Borthwick reckons England are "banging on the door" of the elite nations after their close loss to New Zealand.

England went down 24-22 to the All Blacks in Saturday's Test match at Twickenham.

Mark Tele'a scored the decisive try for New Zealand, who beat England twice in July, in the 76th minute.

England missed the chance to win it late on when George Ford missed a drop-goal attempt, after he had struck the post with a penalty.

But coach Borthwick, who was immensely proud of his team, feels England showed they are capable of mixing it with the best teams in the world, despite losing four of their last five Tests.

"It is a mixture of immense pride at the performance against a very tough New Zealand team and one of incredible disappointment," Borthwick told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"They are the emotions we balance and will work through over the next few days.

"When we started two years ago we wanted to get England right to the top of world rugby again. You can see the team banging on the door."

With the pre-match build-up having been dominated by Joe Marler's jibe at New Zealand's pre-match haka routine, tries from Tele'a and Will Jordan put New Zealand in control.

Marcus Smith's penalties kept England in contention, though, and he set up the hosts' only try when he intercepted a loose pass and teed up Immanuel Feyi-Waboso.

Yet England ultimately failed to hold on to an eight-point advantage, with Ford having to be consoled by his team-mates after the match.

Next up for England are Australia, with fixtures against South Africa and Japan also in store.

"We really have to find a way of winning these close ones," said captain Jamie George. "We put ourselves in a really good position after 60 minutes.

"Eight points is a lot in Test match rugby but we probably went chasing the game a bit and gave away too many penalties. We have to be smarter in that respect."

England walked up to the halfway line to face the haka, something George explained was planned prior to Marler's comments.

"That was always our plan before Joe's comments but we did it in a respectful way," said George. "I saw a smile on Scott Barrett’s face, I was smiling, and it was done in good spirits."

Liam Livingstone hit a tremendous century as England beat West Indies by five wickets in Saturday’s one-day international, taking the three-match series to a decider.

Livingstone’s heroics ensured England got over the line with 15 balls to spare in Antigua despite being set a daunting target of 329 for victory.

Windies captain Shai Hope had earlier struck 117 runs from 127 balls after John Turner had Brandon King caught at backward point and Evin Lewis snared down the leg side. 

Hope was finally caught by Livingstone off Jofra Archer’s delivery in the 47th over, before the stand-in England skipper took over with the bat to drive his team to victory.

He counted five fours and nine maximums in his haul as England recovered from the early losses of Will Jacks (12) and Jordan Cox (four) to complete their chase.

Phil Salt (59), Jacob Bethell (55) and Sam Curran (52) also hit half-centuries for the tourists, with Livingstone fittingly wrapping up the win by smashing 23 runs in a brilliant penultimate over.

Data Debrief: Livingstone picks up the pace

Midway through their innings, England knew they needed to up the pace in order to reach a total they had only managed when batting second 10 times in their ODI history.

Livingstone led the way. Following his first 50 balls faced, he slammed 82 runs off just 35 deliveries, the fastest acceleration by any England batter after 50 balls faced in the format's history.

England produced a brilliant batting performance to level their three-match ODI series against the West Indies at 1-1 with a five-wicket win in the second ODI at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua on Saturday.

The tourists won the toss and elected to field first, a decision that didn’t look the best in batting-friendly conditions in North Sound.

The West Indians made excellent use of these conditions, putting themselves in a good position to take an unassailable 2-0 series lead with 328-6 off their 50 overs.

Captain Shai Hope led the way with 117, his first ODI century of 2024 and 17^th overall. His knock came off 127 deliveries and included eight fours and four sixes.

Keacy Carty and Sherfane Rutherford were the next highest scorers with 71 off 77 balls and 54 off 36 balls, respectively.

John Turner and Adil Rashid each took two wickets for England.

England stand-in captain Liam Livingstone then produced a magnificent effort to lift his side to victory and set up a deciding third ODI.

The all-rounder hit five fours and nine sixes on his way to 124* off just 85 balls, his maiden hundred in the format.

England also got 50+ scores from Barbados-born pair Phil Salt (59) and Jacob Bethell (55) as well as Sam Curran (52) as they needed only 47.3 overs to reach 329-5.

Matthew Forde took 3-48 from 8.3 overs for the West Indies.

Full Scores:

West Indies 328-6 off 50 overs (Shai Hope 117, Keacy Carty 71, Sherfane Rutherford 54, John Turner 2-42, Adil Rashid 2-62)

England 329-5 off 47.3 overs (Liam Livingstone 124*, Phil Salt 59, Jacob Bethell 55, Sam Curran 52, Matthew Forde 3-48)

The two teams will now turn their attention to the series-deciding third ODI in Bridgetown on Wednesday.

England fast bowler Jofra Archer says that his body is in good shape, as he suggested the next target is a return to Test cricket.

Archer is part of England's white-ball squad touring the West Indies.

This is his first tour since he recovered from a stress fracture in his elbow, which kept him out of the 2023 Ashes series.

Although England were beaten by eight wickets on the DLS method in the first ODI against West Indies on Thursday, the series is about more than just winning for Archer.

"My body is in good stead. It’s only been one year of bowling properly as well," he told TNT Sports.

"Before you can play in an ODI, you have to be bowling [10 overs] in training to make sure your body can withstand the load.

"To be honest, I’ve not been doing anything more than [that]."

The 29-year-old returned to international cricket following his injury at the 2024 T20 World Cup and has since played in the home ODI series against Australia.

He needs just four wickets to reach 50 in ODIs, which would make him the 30th England player to hit that milestone in the format.

But he has not featured in a Test since facing India in Ahmedabad in 2021. The sight of him on England duty will likely raise questions about his potential future involvement in the longer format.

"The next phase is maybe for me to start thinking about Test cricket and doing some more loads, but for now, I’m quite happy, and the management are quite happy with everything that I’m doing," he said.

West Indies opened their three-match series against England with a powerful statement on Thursday, clinching an emphatic eight-wicket victory by the DLS method at North Sound in Antigua.

Led by a steady 118-run opening partnership between Evin Lewis and Brandon King, the Caribbean side got to their revised target of 157 with 55 balls to spare and secured a 1-0 advantage in the series.

Lewis had eight sixes and five fours in a blistering 94 off 69 balls, while King was more patient with 30 off 56, including three fours, as their partnership laid the platform for the successful chase after England, fielding four debutants, were bowled out for 209.

Scores: West Indies 157-2 (25.5 overs) (Lewis 94) beat England 209 (45.1 overs) (Livingstone 48, Motie 4-41) by eight wickets (DLS)

After being asked to take first strike, England found themselves struggling to build momentum as they lost openers Phil Salt (18) and Will Jacks (19) to seamer Jayden Seales. Matthew Forde then accounted for Jordan Cox (17) and Jacob Bethell (27) to leave the visitors at 93-4.

However, captain Liam Livingstone with a steady 48 from 49 balls and Sam Curran (37) breathed new life into the innings with a 72-run fifth-wicket stand that placed England back on course for a competitive total. Livingstone struck three fours and two sixes, but just when they started to gather momentum, he became the first of Gudakesh Motie’s four victims, offering an easy chance back to the Guyanese.

In fact, the left-arm spinner removed Dan Mousley (8), Jamie Overton (zero), and Curran in that order in quick succession before Alzarri Joseph got in on the act to collar Adil Rashid (15) and Jofra Archer (7) as they tried to move things along at the backend, but the damage was already done.

Motie, who used his spin to excellent effect, was once again the standout for the West Indies with figures of 4-41 from his full quota of 10 overs. Joseph (2-46), Jayden Seales (2-22), and Matthew Forde (2-48) offered support.

In response, the West Indies started their innings with confidence and aggression. Lewis, who was in formidable form from the last encounter of their Sri Lanka tour, peppered the boundary with a mix of crisp drives and powerful hits, while his opening partner, King, provided steady support, even as Jofra Archer and John Turner repeatedly harassed his outside edge.

The rain interruption did very little to slow the West Indies chase, though England did eventually find the breakthrough when King holed out to Will Jacks off Livingstone’s spin.

Still, Lewis pushed on and seemed well set to carry his bat through the innings before a rush of blood to get to the century saw him succumb to a long-hop from Adil Rashid that came off the toe end of the bat, and Jacob Bethell took an easy catch on the boundary.

Despite that, the chase was well and truly over, and captain Shai Hope and Keacy Carty, on 19, then took the West Indies over the finish line, finishing unbeaten on six and 19, respectively, to seal an easy victory. The comprehensive win showcased the Caribbean side’s intent and confidence, especially after a fairly dismal outing away to Sri Lanka, but it is left to be seen how they will fair for the remainder of the series with the second game scheduled for Saturday at the same venue.

Liam Livingstone said England must quickly "get up to speed" and find their rhythm in the 50-over game after a humbling defeat to West Indies.

Evin Lewis plundered a brilliant 94 off just 69 balls as the Windies won by eight wickets by the Duckworth-Lewis Stern method in the opening, rain-affected ODI in Antigua on Thursday.

England had been bowled out for just 209, with stand-in captain Livingstone top-scoring with 48.

The tourists fielded an inexperienced line-up, but Livingstone knows there is no time to waste when it comes to learning on the job.

He said: "I think the test we have to come over the next few games is with the rhythms of 50-over cricket.

"We have to get up to speed as quickly as possible. We know someone in the top six has to get a big score.

"Fifty overs is a long time. We wanted to put the West Indies under pressure. 

"Conditions change and it's up to us to read them and work out what is a good score. We didn't adapt. West Indies bowled well and we lost wickets at key stages."

Sam Curran (37) was the only other batter to make a dent for England, and Alastair Cook, who was only surpassed as the nation's all-time leading Test run scorer last month, was not impressed.

Speaking in his role as a pundit for TNT Sports, Cook said: "England's batting in general in all three formats on belting wickets – absolutely brilliant, you can't stop them scoring.

"[But] when it becomes tougher, when it becomes about adapting, I'm not sure, at the minute, this group of players are good enough.

"Take Joe Root out of it, he's a class above anyone else when it comes to adjusting to situations. Everyone else has to find a way of being able to adapt better."

West Indies have now won five of their last eight ODIs against England (L3).

England had won 17 of the previous 18 fixtures prior to that span.

Lewis' phenomenal showing with the bat, which included hitting eight sixes, was key to West Indies' victory, with Adil Rashid eventually ending the opener's stand, but it was too little, too late for England.

"Evin Lewis is experienced and has been around for a long time," said Windies captain Shai Hope.

"You can see he is a different beast. He's hungry. I'm glad about the scores he's getting now."

Gudakesh Motie, however, scooped the Player of the Match award after taking 4-41.

"I wasn't getting much turn out of the wicket so I was just trying to keep it on a straight line and keep my lengths," he said.

"Runs weren't coming at both ends easily, which helped me a lot to take four wickets.

"I figured out bowling fast in these conditions was easier [to play] so I was trying to bowl as slow as possible."

Jofra Archer (0-21) bowled well without reward. He is four wickets away from becoming the 30th player to take 50 wickets for England in men's ODIs.

England have aspirations of greatness, asserted Ben Earl as he prepares to face New Zealand in a friendly at Twickenham.

The 26-year-old was optimistic about the progress England had made under Steve Borthwick despite registering two losses at the hands of the All Blacks in July.

England will be seeking revenge after losing the second match of the test in a devastatingly close 16-15 defeat. Immanuel Feyi-Waboso had scored a try to put England ahead after scores had been tied 10-10 at half-time, but two penalty kicks from Damian McKenzie ended their hopes.

Earl, however, believes the heartbreak has given his country an opportunity to develop.

“I think it’s an experience all the big teams go through, you have to go through some heartache to get over the line,” he told TNT Sports.

“It just feels like it’s the evolution of all the top teams, and we are a team that wants to be known as a great team, some of the world’s best. 

“So we know the heartache is good for a while, but it’s time to go and do it at the right time. We got a glimpse of it against Ireland last year, and we feel we are due one, and we have learnt some really hard lessons over the summer, so we feel we are in a better place for it.

“We have always said you don’t win easily against us and that’s something we have developed over the last 18 months with Steve’s mindset and the boys getting hold of it, and now I feel it’s time to get over the line in one of these big games.”

New Zealand have won their last three matches, having defeated Japan and secured a double over Australia. They struggled against reigning world champions South Africa, however, as they failed to exact revenge on the Springboks in late summer tests falling to defeat twice.

Undoubtedly, the All Blacks still represent some of the best talent in the world, with Earl expected to line up opposite New Zealand’s superstar Wallace Sititi.

“There’s stardust littered all over the pitch isn’t there? There’s some pretty cool match-ups; it just feels like a game that isn’t going to disappoint,” he said.

England won’t be overawed, though. Instead, they aim to make their west London home a fortress for visiting sides to travel to.

“[Twickenham is] a place where we want to be really, really hard to beat. And we’ve always said in the camp, if you want to beat us at Twickenham you are going to have to be over and above the norm,” Earl said. 

Steve Borthwick has challenged England to "finish the job" by converting positive performances into victories against the world's top teams.

The 2003 world champions begin their Autumn Nations Series against New Zealand at the Allianz Stadium on Saturday.

England are aiming to bounce back from narrow defeats against the All Blacks, who prevailed 16-15 and 24-17 in their two previous encounters in July.

Borthwick's side were also narrowly beaten 33-31 by France in their final match of this year's Six Nations, while a last-gasp 16-15 loss at the hands of South Africa denied them a place in the 2023 World Cup final.

And the head coach wants his players to demonstrate their ruthless streak to get them over the line against the bigger nations.

"We've got a young squad," he told TNT Sports. "There's a real feeling of enthusiasm for where they can take this team.

"I think you've seen that evolution with the team, but also seeing there's plenty we've still got to do. It's a brilliant series ahead.

"There was a period where the England team weren't necessarily challenging those teams at the top of the world rankings. Now, we've been able to do that in recent times.

"We haven't won as many games as we wanted to. In a lot of those games, it came to that final quarter where we've been in a position to win it, and we haven't been able to convert it to the result we wanted.

"Now, we're going to make sure we finish the job, and that's been part of the discussion with the players last week."

Jos Buttler is eager to put his "frustrating" injury absence behind him, and the England white-ball captain has "loads of hunger" to get back on the field.

A recurring calf injury has kept Buttler sidelined since June, with the 34-year-old also set to miss the three-match ODI series against the West Indies, which begins on Thursday.

Liam Livingstone will take over as captain in the absence of Buttler, who should return for the subsequent five-match T20 series in the Caribbean.

And the keeper-batter cannot wait to appear for his country once more.

"It's been frustrating, but now it's feeling good, and I'm looking forward to getting back on the field," he told TNT Sports. 

"[I've had] a couple of little setbacks along the way, which is frustrating, but I'm using it to motivate me. I'm just excited to get back on the pitch and back with the bat in hand in the middle.

"I'm OK at watching. I think it fuels that fire to get out in the middle and play. You want to be performing and part of the team, leading the side.

"I try not to have a mindset of being frustrated, but take it as a bit of an extended break out of the game. But hopefully, [I can] see it as some time away to really give me loads of hunger to get back on the field."

Buttler also offered his thoughts on Livingstone, who he believes is the safe pair of hands to take over the captaincy for the ODI series.

"Liam is one of the more experienced numbers in that group, and it gives him a chance to get some leadership experience, build that leadership group," he added.

"He's a player that's exciting as well, we know what he's capable of, and it's a really good opportunity for him to lead the team.

"I think it's really important to let them go out there and do their thing. You don't want to be asking someone to do exactly what you want to do, you're trying to give guys experience. If he needs a sounding board or anything, he can certainly ask my opinion."

Steve Borthwick expects the "energy and passion of our supporters" to give England an "extra lift" when they face New Zealand on Saturday.

England welcome the All Blacks to the Allianz Stadium this weekend for their first match of this year's Autumn Nations Series.

Borthwick's side will be playing on home soil for only the third time in their last 16 internationals, and the head coach is pleased to be back in familiar surroundings.

"We're excited for the challenge of playing against one of the best teams in world rugby," he said.

"We'll need to be accurate, keep our discipline, and maintain a level of intensity throughout the match, from the first whistle to the final moment.

"With just two games at Allianz Stadium in our last 15, it's fantastic to be returning to play in front of our home crowd again. The energy and passion of our supporters always give the team an extra lift."

Henry Slade will start at centre, despite playing just 54 minutes of club rugby this season after recovering from shoulder surgery, with Ben Spencer replacing the injured Alex Mitchell at scrum-half.

Ellis Genge is back after missing the summer tour of New Zealand with a calf injury, while there are also starts for Maro Itoje and Tom Curry, with George Ford named on the bench.

England have named Warwickshire all-rounder Jacob Bethell in their squad for the three-Test tour of New Zealand. 

Bethell, who made his T20 and ODI debuts against Australia last month, replaces Jamie Smith who misses out due to paternity leave.

However, the 21-year-old has played just 20 County Championship games in his career, and has yet to make a first-class century.

He averaged 25.44 across those matches, with his highest total of 93 coming against Nottinghamshire early in the 2024 season.

Bethell made some impressive middle-order cameos with the bat against Australia in September, and also starred for the Birmingham Phoenix in The Hundred. 

Bethell also bowls left arm-spin - he struck four times across the five ODIs versus Australia - and will support the frontline trio of Shoaib Bashir, Jack Leach and Rehan Ahmed. 

His inclusion is the only change to the squad that suffered a 2-1 series defeat in Pakistan, with Jordan Cox poised for his Test bow as he deputises behind the stumps for Smith.

Vice-captain Ollie Pope keeps his place in the squad despite a difficult tour of Pakistan in which he averaged just 11, with a highest score of 29, across the three Tests.

The first Test in Christchurch begins on 27 November with matches in Wellington and Hamilton to follow in December.

England squad for Test series against New Zealand: Ben Stokes (captain), Rehan Ahmed, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Bryson Carse, Jordan Cox, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jack Leach, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Olly Stone, Chris Woakes.

England coach Brendon McCullum backed ‘hurting’ Ben Stokes to come back stronger after they fell to a 2-1 defeat in the Test series in Pakistan on the captain’s return from a hamstring injury. 

Stokes had missed the historic first Test in Multan that England won by an innings and 47 runs, but he recovered after a two-month lay-off to make himself available ahead of the second Test. 

On a reused pitch in Multan, England fell to a 152-run defeat to the hosts with the 33-year-old all-rounder managing 1 and 37 with the bat and bowling just 10 overs without a wicket. 

Stokes did not have much luck in the third Test either, collecting just 15 runs over the two innings as Pakistan made it back-to-back wins to win the three-match series. 

“He's disappointed but he's our skipper and we know he's tough," McCullum told BBC Sport.

"He'll make sure he'll come back. It's our job to make sure we wrap our arms around him and help him along the way."