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• Smith not pinning blame on Ford for England loss

  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."

• Australia recover from middle-order collapse to win Pakistan opener

  Australia rallied to overcome Pakistan by two wickets in the first of three one-day internationals between the teams at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. 

  Roared on by vocal travelling support, Pakistan were in the ascendency when their pacemen dropped Australia from 113-2 to 115-7, with the hosts chasing 204 for victory.

  Harif Rauf dismissed three while Shaheen Shah Afridi and Mohammad Hasnain also got in on the act to decimate the hosts' middle order.

  Naseem Shah had earlier scored 40 off 39 balls to salvage a score of 203 all out for the tourists, but a crucial cameo from captain Pat Cummins got Australia over the line.

  Cummins calmly came up with an unbeaten 32 from 31 balls as the hosts sealed victory with 16.3 overs remaining, with even Sean Abbott's error in being run out for 13 failing to inspire a change in the momentum. 

  Bowler Mitchell Starc told ABC Grandstand after the match: "We probably didn't like that Patty and I had pads on, but it's a positive start to the summer.

  "A win is a win no matter how you get there."

  Data Debrief: Cummins leads from the front

  Cummins' unbeaten 32 may not go down as his most memorable knock in ODIs, but it did equal his best innings for Australia in the format.

  That proved crucial after Matthew Short (1), Jake Fraser-McGurk (16), Marnus Labuschagne (16), Aaron Hardie (10) and Glenn Maxwell (0) disappointed with the bat.

  Australia, who have won both of their ODI series versus West Indies and England since lifting the World Cup in 2023, can now seal a series triumph in Adelaide on Friday.

• New Zealand seal historic Test sweep of India

  India were whitewashed in a three-match home Test series for the very first time as New Zealand sealed a 25-run victory in the final match at Wankhede on Sunday.

  Having given themselves hope of avoiding a 3-0 defeat on day two, India found themselves chasing 145 for victory on a difficult pitch after Ravindra Jadeja had Ajaz Patel (8) caught by Akash Deep.

  However, Rishabh Pant’s fine 64 off 57 balls was not enough for the hosts as the wickets tumbled around him, Patel scalping six in the second India innings to take his tally for the match to 11.

  India lost four within the first eight overs with Patel taking two, sending stumps flying to account for Shubman Gill then having Sarfaraz Khan caught for one run apiece. 

  The Mumbai-born seamer finally got Pant’s all-important wicket 22 overs in following a successful review from Tom Latham, and India never looked likely to complete the chase from there.

  Glenn Phillips got in on the act with two wickets in two balls to dismiss Ravinchandran Ashwin (8) and Akash (0) before Patel finished things off when his spin ball beat the attempted sweep of Washington Sundar (12).

  Data Debrief: Black Caps make history

  This is the first time India have lost a Test series 3-0 on home soil in their history, and the first time they have lost three red-ball matches in any single home series since 1983.

  They were last blanked on their own turf in the format in a two-match series versus South Africa in 2000.

  It is also the first time New Zealand have ever won three Tests in a single series, while Patel now has 25 wickets in two Tests at the Wankhede Stadium – the most by any visiting bowler at a single venue versus India.