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• Borthwick names unchanged starting England team for Australia clash

  Steve Borthwick has named an unchanged starting team for England's match against Australia on Saturday with two changes on the bench.

  England enter their second November Test looking to bounce back from their narrow 24-22 defeat to New Zealand last weekend. 

  Borthwick, however has elected to name the same group that started against the All Blacks, though Henry Slade will shift to inside centre, while Ollie Lawrence moves to outside centre.

  Marcus Smith retains his place at fly-half while Jamie George continues to lead the side at hooker, but there is no place for Theo Dan or Ben Curry. 

  The pair are replaced by Luke Cowan-Dickie and Ollie Sleightholme as England move from a six-two split between forwards and backs to a five-three combination.

  Hooker Cowan-Dickie will make his first England appearance since November 2022 if he is introduced off the bench.

  “Facing Australia is always a massive challenge, and we’ll work diligently this week to ensure we’re physically and tactically prepared to take on the Wallabies,” said Borthwick.

  “The passion and energy from the crowd at Allianz Stadium last weekend was absolutely brilliant, from the opening whistle to the final moments, and we can't wait to be back at home this Saturday."

  England squad in full:

  George Furbank, Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, Ollie Lawrence, Henry Slade, Tommy Freeman, Marcus Smith, Ben Spencer; Ellis Genge, Jamie George (captain), Will Stuart, Maro Itoje, George Martin, Chandler Cunningham-South, Tom Curry, Ben Earl.

  Replacements: Luke Cowan-Dickie, Fin Baxter, Dan Cole, Nick Isiekwe, Alex Dombrandt, Harry Randall, George Ford, Ollie Sleightholme

• 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.