South Africa rest De Kock for final England ODI

South Africa wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock was not considered for selection for the Proteas' final ODI against England on Wednesday following an injury to his right thumb.

De Kock suffered the injury in the 2nd ODI on Sunday while attempting to catch a ball off of an edge from England batsman Harry Brook.

The Proteas' wicketkeeper was cleared to bat in the second innings after a scan revealed no fracture and made 31 as a superb Temba Bavuma century saw his side chase down 342 to win by five wickets.

However, Cricket South Africa (CSA) decided De Kock will not be risked in the third ODI with Heinrich Klaasen his replacement.

SQUAD UPDATEQuinton de Kock will not be considered for selection in the final match of the #SAvENG Betway ODI Series.The wicket-keeper will be rested as a precaution after sustaining an injury to his right thumb in the second ODI#BePartOfIt pic.twitter.com/i7zU0dcYze
— Proteas Men (@ProteasMenCSA) February 1, 2023

South Africa are aiming for a series sweep after winning the first two matches in Bloemfontein and made three changes for the final ODI, with Anrich Nortje and Keshav Maharaj also missing out.

Should they win the final game today, South Africa would boost their chances of automatically qualifying for the World Cup in India later this year with a defeat meaning they may have to go through the qualifiers in Zimbabwe.