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.

Pakistan romped to a first Test series win on home soil since 2021 after coming from 1-0 down to clinch a series victory over England with a nine-wicket triumph in Rawalpindi. 

The tourists were again undone by Pakistan's spin bowlers, with Sajid Khan and Noman Ali seeing England all out for 112, their lowest ever total in Pakistan. 

England started 24-3 with Harry Brook and Joe Root at the crease, with the pair starting confidently before the former was caught by Mohammad Rizwan from Noman's delivery.

Ben Stokes (three) and Jamie Smith (three) followed shortly after, with Root then edging from another Noman delivery to all but England's slim hopes of a victory.

The tourists lost seven wickets for just 46 runs, with Noman (6-42) and Sajid (4-69) claiming all 10 dismissals in the second innings, with Pakistan set a target of just 36 to win. 

Jack Leach was able to grab the early wicket of Saim Ayub (eight), but Shan Masood (23) and Abdullah Shafique (five) steered the hosts to a memorable victory. 

England's next Test series starts in New Zealand at the end of November, while an almost entirely different squad begins a white-ball series in the West Indies next week. 

Data Debrief: Pakistan end home hoodoo

Having been beaten in six consecutive Tests and winless in 11 at home, Pakistan earned a memorable victory on home soil, spearheaded by Noman and Sajid. 

Sajid rightly picked up the Player of the Series award, taking 19 wickets which included two five-wicket hauls, while also scoring 72 runs with the bat. 

But Noman also played his part in the triumph. Along with Sajid, the pair took 39 of the 40 wickets in the final two Tests against England.

Jamie Smith says England are "pretty pleased with the position we are in", after the tourists recovered from a tricky spell on day one of their final Test with Pakistan.

England made a strong start with an opening partnership of 56 from Zak Crawley (29) and Ben Duckett (52), but wickets began to tumble as they slumped to 118-6.

Sajid Khan (6-128) did most of the damage for the hosts, but Smith settled things down with a solid knock of 89 before the visitors were dismissed for 267.

Shoaib Bashir, Jack Leach and Guy Atkinson then stalled Pakistan's momentum at the crease, as they finished the day 194 runs adrift at 73-3.

Smith hit seven sixes on the way to his first Test half-century outside of England, and was pleased with the way he and his team-mates responded to their setback. 

"It's nice to do it away from home," he said. "You want to be known as someone who can do it in all conditions. It's nice to score runs wherever. 

"We are pretty pleased with the position we are in. We are happy to put runs on the board. It is a decent score, especially from the position we were in.

"When they're on top, they definitely try and let you know that and put you under as much pressure as possible. So, it's nice to revert that onto them and put them under some pressure."

England battled back to finish strongly against Pakistan after an early collapse with the bat on day one of the third Test.

The tourists stumbled to 267 in their first innings, but the bowlers managed to salvage some pride late in the day.

Zak Crawley (29) and Ben Duckett (52) initially made a strong start with an opening partnership of 56, but the wickets started to tumble soon after.

Ollie Pope (3), Joe Root, Harry Brook (both 5) and Ben Stokes (12) were all dismissed by Sajid Khan (6-128) as England slumped to 118-6, but Jamie Smith restored some pride.

He was caught by Mohammad Rizwan just short of a century after plundering 89, while Gus Atkinson added a needed 39 before their innings was brought to an end.

However, Pakistan were unable to build on their momentum, as they finished the day 73-3, with Shoaib Bashir, Jack Leach and Atkison stalling them.

The hosts trail by 194 runs after day one of the deciding Test in the three-match series, with Shan Masood (16 not out) and Saud Shakeel (16 not out), set to resume at the crease on Friday. 

Data Debrief: Smith to the rescue

It looked like England might suffer yet another collapse against Pakistan after the quick dismissals of their early batters, but Smith stepped in to steady the tide.

He got his first Test half-century away from home and was unlucky not to come away with a ton after a great stand for England. 

And that was all down to Pakistan's bowling. They employed spin exclusively across the 68.2 overs, the longest first innings in Test history without any seam bowling.

Jofra Archer is “just happy” to be back playing for England after taking two wickets in their 186-run win over Australia to level the teams' ODI series.

The right-arm fast bowler has faced years of injury problems, including recurring stress fractures in his back and right elbow, but made his return to international action in June for the T20 World Cup.

Since then, he has also featured for Southern Brave in The Hundred and played four of England’s six white-ball matches during Australia’s tour.

He bowled Australia opener and captain Mitchell Marsh out and saw Glenn Maxwell caught by wicketkeeper Jamie Smith last time out, moving within four dismissals of a half-century of wickets in ODIs.

“I've been back to this rhythm for a little while now. I felt it in the World Cup and I've just been taking it series by series,” he told reporters afterwards. 

“The World Cup was a good check mark. This [fourth ODI] was a good check mark. The Caribbean will be another good check mark.

“I know I’ve been out, it’s been a while but I am playing cricket again and I’m just happy.”

Joe Root guided England through a tricky final session as the hosts beat Sri Lanka by five runs in Manchester.

England looked like they could collapse when they were left at 70-3 following the dismissals of Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope and Dan Lawrence on Saturday.

Yet Root, along with Harry Brook, steadied the ship before the latter was caught and bowled by Prabath Jayasuriya on 32, leaving the hosts on 116-4, chasing a target of 204 to win.

Root, however, remained nerveless, with Jamie Smith contributing an entertaining and useful 39 from just 48 balls in a brief stint at the other end.

Smith's stand came to an end with England still 21 runs shy of their target, but Root would not let victory slip through their fingers.

And it was Root who fittingly had the final say as he struck his second boundary to take himself onto 62 and seal a convincing win.

Data Debrief: Root comes up big

Root has scored 60+ in five of his last seven Test innings, after managing 42 in the first innings of this match (84, 68, 14, 122, 87, 42, 62).

He is just one century away, meanwhile, from matching Alastair Cook's record of 33 Test tons for England.

Sri Lanka batting coach Ian Bell believes Jamie Smith will be a "world class player" for years to come with England after striking his maiden century against Sri Lanka on day three of the first Test. 

Smith, who started on 72 after rain halted play on the second day, scored 111 from 148 deliveries at Old Trafford, claiming his ton in the 77th over of proceedings. 

He had a strike rate of 75.00 and showed 90% control through the balls he faced, the most controlled Test century by an Englishman since Joe Root versus India at Edgbaston in 2022 (92%).

Smith also became the fifth wicketkeeper to score a ton for England at Old Trafford, after Alec Stewart (three times), Godfrey Evans, Jack Russell and Ben Foakes.

And Bell, whose 7,727 runs put him ninth on England's all-time list in Tests, has seen first-hand the 24-year-old's talents, having worked with him for England Lions and Hundred side Birmingham Phoenix. 

"He's going to be a world-class player for England over a long period of time," said Bell. "He's confident, and he's taken to international cricket with ease," he said. 

Surrey's Smith was given the gloves by England ahead of county team-mate Foakes and Jonny Bairstow for the series against West Indies.

He missed out on a maiden century in the third Test against the Windies, scoring 95 at Edgbaston, but made no mistake with 111 in Manchester on Friday.

But Bell believes there is still more to come from Smith on the international stage after his showing in Manchester. 

"The small part that I played in his development, I've watched a guy who's worked extremely hard," said Bell.

"I'm sure he's going to be a massive part of this England team in all formats over a long time."

Jamie Smith led the way as England took control on day two of their third Test against West Indies at Edgbaston.

The wicket-keeper-batter hit an impressive 95 off 109 balls, falling just shy of his maiden century in only his third Test.

Chasing the Windies' first-innings total of 282, England made a nervy start with the early wickets of Ollie Pope (10) and Harry Brook (two) leaving them at 54-5.

Joe Root (87) and Ben Stokes (54) settled the hosts down with a 115-run stand, while Smith's near-century and 62 from Chris Woakes helped them to a total of 376, a 94-run advantage.

West Indies' response was immediately halted as Woakes claimed skipper Kraigg Braithwaite for a duck in the first over.

Kirk McKenzie (eight) then fell to Gus Atkinson, while opener Mikyle Louis was fortunate to see Stokes drop a simple catch as the visitors reached stumps on 33-2. 

Louis, on 18, and Alick Athanaze, on five, will resume batting on Sunday's third day with the Caribbean side 61 runs behind, and eight wickets intact to possibly make a fight of it.

Data Debrief: Root roars past Lara

Root delivered another impressive batting display for England. Although he was fortunate not to be dismissed in the second over, as replays showed he would have been given out had the Windies reviewed an lbw appeal.

Nevertheless, he fully capitalised with his 87 taking him past 12,000 Test runs, making him only the second England player to do so after Alastair Cook.

Although a 33rd Test century narrowly eluded him, Root did leapfrog Brian Lara into seventh place on the all-time leading Test run-scorers list. 

The West Indies are on the brink of a quick defeat at stumps on day two of the first of three Tests against England at Lord’s.

The tourists ended Thursday 79-6 off 34.5 overs, needing a further 171 runs to force England to bat again.

Similar to the first innings, the West Indian top order failed to impress as Kraigg Brathwaite (4), Kirk McKenzie (0), Mikyle Louis (14) and Kavem Hodge (4) all fell within the first 20 overs of the innings with the West Indies teetering at just 37.

Alick Athanaze was next to go after battling hard for 22 to leave the West Indies 55-5 in the 29^th over before Jason Holder and Joshua Da Silva looked set to see out the English bowling for the rest of the day.

This proved not to be the case as Holder became Gus Atkinson’s ninth wicket of his magical debut in the day’s last over for 20 to leave the West Indies 79-6 off 34.5 overs at stumps.

Joshua Da Silva was 8* at the close of play.

James Anderson, Atkinson and skipper Ben Stokes have taken two wickets, each, so far.

Earlier, the hosts progressed to 371 all out off 90 overs after beginning day two 189-3.

Both overnight batsmen, Joe Root and Harry Brook, went on to bring up their fifties.

Root eventually fell for a 114-ball 68 including seven fours while Brook made an even 50 off 64 balls including five fours and a six.

The top scorer on the day, however, was debutant Jamie Smith who hit eight fours and two sixes on his way to a 119-ball 70.

On his return to the Test arena, Jayden Seales was the pick of the West Indian bowlers with 4-77 from 20 overs.

Gudakesh Motie and Jason Holder provided good support for Seales with 2-41 off 16 overs and 2-58 off 18 overs, respectively.

Full Scores:

West Indies 121 all out off 41.4 overs (Mikyle Louis 27, Gus Atkinson 7-45) & 79-6 off 34.5 overs (Alick Athanaze 22, James Anderson 2-11, Ben Stokes 2-25, Gus Atkinson 2-27)

England 371 all out off 90 overs (Zak Crawley 76, Jamie Smith 70, Joe Root 68, Ollie Pope 57, Harry Brook 50, Jayden Seales 4-77, Gudakesh Motie 2-41, Jason Holder 2-58)

Alec Stewart is braced for the “toughest” season yet, but has still set Surrey the target of winning a third consecutive Vitality County Championship title.

It was confirmed last month that Stewart would leave his director of cricket role at the end of 2024 in order to spend more time with his family following 11 years in the post.

Stewart signed his first contract with the county in 1981 and has been involved in six Championship successes, but he is striving for one more.

While there have been multiple back-to-back Division One winners in recent seasons, Brian Close’s Yorkshire side from the 1960s are the last team to win three Championships in a row.

Chelsea-fan Stewart is well aware of how difficult that will be, especially with a T20 World Cup in June, but has challenged Surrey to go up a level in the longest format and to fulfil their potential in white-ball cricket with an overdue Vitality Blast win.

“It’ll be the hardest year because of the World Cup,” Stewart reflected.

“We’ll have players who will go from the IPL (Indian Premier League), straight into the World Cup or near enough.

“This season is the toughest because it’s an extra month or six weeks that we won’t have those players for, but we’ve known that, so therefore you try and plan for that.

“I’m greedy, I want to win everything. We won it (Vitality Blast) in 2003, the first year, and we’ve got to Finals Day since but we haven’t won it.

“So, of course I’d like to win it, but so would 17 other counties.

“The Championship is still, for me, the pinnacle. The fact we’ve won it two in two is fantastic. Can we do it three in three? That’s what we’re going for.

“And then it’s how do we play, because the champions are always the side to beat and have we got the skillsets? And can we up our game enough?

“We were good last year, but I didn’t think we were great last year.”

Surrey players are determined to give Stewart a fitting farewell, but even the former England captain knows it will not really be goodbye.

The Kia Oval has largely been Stewart’s home for the best part of five decades and even longer for the family given his father Micky made his debut for the county in 1954.

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Stewart acknowledged: “It’s never going to end. Formally, yes, but I’ll still be coming to this place or still feel a part of it.

“They want me to try and stay in some role but I’ve said, I’m never going to walk away completely, but they’ve got to get the person in place first, because that person may not want me hanging about, which I fully understand.

“So, yep, I’m stepping down from a role I have thoroughly enjoyed and continue to enjoy. And then in December or whenever it will be, then I’ll drive out and say goodbye.

“Whatever job you’re in, you want to leave it in a better shape than when you took it over. That’s for others to judge, but we’ve certainly made progress.

“I want to win every trophy, but I get as much enjoyment seeing a (Ollie) Pope, (Will) Jacks or (Jamie) Smith come through our system as youngsters, come into our first team and then going to play for England because that to me counts as success.

“The trophy cabinet has the Championship in it at the minute, but if you have another cabinet, it’d be full of Surrey players that have come through the pathway then got England caps.”

Durham wicketkeeper Ollie Robinson is ready to take his chance in a potential “shootout” for the England gloves this summer.

With Ben Foakes yet to match imperious glovework with consistent runs and Jonny Bairstow potentially at a career crossroads following a lean tour of India, there are a number of contenders eager to push to the front of the queue.

Foakes’ Surrey team-mate Jamie Smith has no shortage of admirers, Somerset’s James Rew enjoyed a superb breakout season in 2023 and white-ball regular Phil Salt is keen to make the move across formats.

But there is also a compelling candidate at Chester-le-Street. Robinson was outstanding as Durham stormed to the Division Two title last season, scoring three centuries and 931 runs at a strike-rate of 88.66 to mark himself out as a ‘Bazball’ natural. In the field he contributed 37 catches and 10 stumpings.

That won him a place on England Lions’ winter series against India A and the 25-year-old is not shying away from the possibility of a swift promotion ahead of Durham’s top-flight return against Hampshire on Friday.

“You see articles all the time, people putting stuff online, and it sounds like the media think there’s going to be changes with England,” he told the PA news agency.

“Whether it’s me or someone else, who knows, but that’s an exciting place to be at the start of the season. It’s a bit of a shootout in a way.

“Things like the Lions call-up show you you’re not that far away. It might just be about who starts the best. That’s not me putting pressure on myself but it is an exciting opportunity to really put your name in the hat if something was to happen and changes are to be made.

“Coaches talk about having healthy competition all the time and that’s what drives people onwards, knowing someone is on your tail. I’m used to that, before I was here I was at Kent and I had Jordan Cox and Sam Billings around me so I’ve always had that feeling of trying to force my way in.”

Robinson is also pleased to be coming through at a time when England’s attacking philosophy, led by head coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes, chimes with his own instincts.

“That’s the way I’ve always played, I like to score runs and hit boundaries,” he said.

“I remember opening the batting for Kent against Northamptonshire once and getting 100 off 100 balls. Everyone was asking, ‘Are you in a rush to get somewhere?’.

“It’s a breath of fresh air for me that it’s becoming more the norm to go about things that way. I score quickly and hit the ball in areas that some players don’t. Batters are there to score runs, it doesn’t matter how many you face.”

Surrey wicketkeeper-batter Jamie Smith will relish the chance to take on Nathan Lyon in Friday’s season opener at Lancashire but is relaxed about his future international prospects.

Smith made his England bow in September when he appeared in two ODIs against Ireland after an excellent domestic campaign.

The 23-year-old has long been earmarked as a future international since he scored a century on his first-class debut in 2019 against an MCC attack which included Stuart Broad. Last year he turned potential into results.

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A tally of 736 red-ball runs helped Surrey to Vitality County Championship success and Smith is excited to begin the new campaign against a high-quality Lancashire line-up that should include Aussie spinner Lyon.

“Yeah, I think you have to (relish it) and with aspirations of playing Test cricket, you will come up against world class players anyway,” Smith told the PA news agency.

“There is always a little bit of analysis that goes into it and he’s played a lot. A few guys have played against him in the changing room, so I guess it is getting those experiences as well.

“We know he is a fantastic player. No one gets that many Test wickets (530) without being a fantastic player so you respect what he has done, but also play him like anyone else on the day.”

After Smith started the 2022 season with a maiden double ton at Gloucestershire but failed to back it up, he was determined to bring a level of consistency to his game last year.

What followed was two hundreds, which included a sensational 114 off 77 balls to help Surrey chase 501 at Kent, four fifties and an average of 40.88 with a 65.3 strike rate.

His success was not just limited to red-ball cricket either, with contributions with both the bat and gloves able to fire Surrey to Vitality Blast finals’ day and he also starred for Birmingham Phoenix in The Hundred.

It earned Smith two England white-ball caps in September and his name is in the mix for a Test shot should Surrey team-mate Ben Foakes be discarded.

Smith added: “That was important to put a season together instead of a few scores. For me what was a big turning point was staying consistent with my approach.

“There are going to be low scores in there, but instead of panicking about it or changing the way you want to play, I stayed quite consistent with a positive style.

“It was obviously an incredible end to a fantastic summer and fantastic recognition to have that (England debut).

“No one can ever take it away from you that you have represented your country, no matter who it was against or in what capacity.

“It was a proud day for my family. They made a lot of sacrifices when I was growing up and still now, so it was an incredibly proud moment.

“When you get a taste of something like that, you obviously want to have it again knowing that it is probably not my time right now, with the guys they’ve got picked but if I keep chipping away and scoring runs you never know when the next one could come.

“If you are outscoring people in the County Championship or the Blast and putting in performances, winning games when it matters, scoring runs when it matters, then people will always take notice.”

Jamie Smith plundered a century as LV= Insurance County Championship leaders Surrey made Middlesex toil at Lord’s.

Smith was still there at the close on 120 alongside Jordan Clark on 34, with the visitors having reached 312 for five despite losing opener Dom Sibley for just three.

Tom Helm’s three for 86 helped to peg back some ground, but Surrey left the field the happier.

Former England captain Sir Alastair Cook hit an unbeaten 64 as Essex closed to within 101 of Kent with 10 wickets in hand after an eventful opening day at Chelmsford.

Jamie Porter and Sam Cook took three wickets each as the visitors, who elected to bat, were skittled out for just 207 in 59 overs, with opener Ben Compton’s 47 the most notable contribution.

Cook and Nick Browne got Essex’s reply off to a strong start to reach the close at 106 without loss.

George Balderson and Tom Bailey mounted a rearguard action against Warwickshire to edge Lancashire towards 300 with an unbeaten eighth-wicket partnership of 145.

Number seven Balderson reached stumps six runs short of a century with number nine Bailey 75 not out to help the visitors to 295 for seven.

Nottinghamshire will resume against Hampshire trailing by 79 runs with five wickets in hand after an eventful day at Trent Bridge.

Brett Hutton, Dane Paterson and Lyndon James each took three wickets as the visitors were bowled out for 166.

However, Ian Holland claimed four for 19 in eight overs to reduce Nottinghamshire to 87 for five.

Northamptonshire seamer Jack White’s five-wicket haul could not prevent Somerset reaching the 350 mark.

White claimed five for 77 at the County Ground as the visitors were eventually dismissed for 351 with opener Sean Dickson top-scoring with 70 and George Bartlett making 55.

In Division Two, Derbyshire wicketkeeper Brooke Guest frustrated leaders Durham with a career-best 145 not out as the home side ended day one 317 for six after being put in.

Number three Guest hit 22 fours in an unbeaten 257-ball stay and put on 118 for the third wicket with Wayne Madsen, who made 62, before Durham skipper Scott Borthwick took two late wickets to edge his side back into it.

England spinner Rehan Ahmed provided some much-needed resistance as Leicestershire attempted to avoid a significant first-innings deficit against Worcestershire at Oakham.

Ahmed made 25 not out as the home side slumped to 88 for eight in response to the visitors’ total of just 178.

Matt Salisbury and Wiaan Mulder both took three Worcestershire wickets, but Dillon Pennington matched the feat at a cost of just 24 runs as the hosts crumbled.

Yorkshire’s Matthew Fisher took four for 53 as Sussex were reduced to 120 for six on a rain-affected day at Headingley.

Fynn Hudson-Prentice and Nathan McAndrew ended a day on which only 42 overs were bowled unbeaten on 29 and 25 respectively.

A century by Jamie Smith has given Surrey a chance of making history in the LV= Insurance County Championship.

The Division One leaders need another 238 for victory against Kent in what would be their highest-ever successful run chase.

The leaders were 263 for three at stumps and more than halfway to their target, with Dom Sibley 61 not out and Ben Foakes unbeaten on 22, after Smith made 114 and Tom Latham 58.

Kent were all out for 344 just before lunch at Canterbury, giving them a lead of exactly 500.

Joe Clarke posted his first century since September 2021 for Nottinghamshire but Warwickshire remain favourites to complete a fourth win of the season.

Nottinghamshire were following on after being bowled out for just 155 in reply to Warwickshire’s 571 for nine declared at Trent Bridge.

But despite Clarke’s unbeaten 119 they remain 149 runs behind after closing on 267 for four.

Matt Critchley hit 52 and took two wickets as Essex pushed for victory over Somerset at Chelmsford.

Essex set the visitors an unlikely 466 runs to win in just under five sessions after declaring on 170 for seven.

Somerset’s batters, headed by Tom Lammonby and Tom Abell’s half-centuries, gave them a chance of salvaging a draw as they finished on 172 for four to trail by 294.

Lancashire are closing in on a first win of the season after bowling out Hampshire for 371 in their second innings and reaching 48 for two in pursuit of their 140-run target.

A three-wicket burst by George Balderson helped the hosts work their way through the six remaining wickets, although they were held up by a determined knock of 87 from visiting skipper James Vince at sweltering Southport.

In Division Two, Shan Masood is unbeaten on 68 but Yorkshire lost late wickets chasing Derbyshire’s target of 212 and closed on 147 for six at Chesterfield with 65 more runs needed.

Derbyshire skipper Leus du Plooy made a superb 170 and shared a fifth-wicket stand of 277 with Haider Ali, who scored 146, as the home side made 453 to set up an exciting final morning.

Bas de Leede produced career-best batting and bowling figures to boost Durham’s hopes of defeating Glamorgan at Chester-le-Street.

De Leede scored an unbeaten 85 to allow Durham to post a mammoth total of 630, their fifth-highest score in first-class cricket, following 151 from David Bedingham.

The Netherlands international then struck with his first two deliveries before adding a third to end the day with three for 25 to leave Glamorgan four down at the close, still requiring 81 runs to make Durham bat again.

Tom Haines made 91 as Sussex headed into the final day against Worcestershire at Hove on 359 for six, with a lead of 297.

Lewis Hill spent more than five hours at the crease for 103 as Leicestershire reached 350 in reply to Gloucestershire’s 368. The hosts closed on nine without loss second time around with a draw appearing the most likely outcome at Bristol.