BITS AND PIECES

BITS AND PIECES

De Kock to play third Test against New Zealand

WELLINGTON: South Africa’s Quinton de Kock has been cleared to play the third Test against New Zealand in Hamilton after passing a late fitness Test on Friday.

The 24-year-old wicketkeeper injured the index finger on his right hand while fielding in South Africa’s eight-wicket win in the second Test in Wellington and underwent scans earlier this week.

He missed training on Wednesday and Thursday and while scans determined the finger was not broken, he had damaged tendons.

De Kock trained on Friday with strapping and a protective splint and South Africa captain Faf du Plessis said as far as he was concerned the aggressive batsman was too important to leave out for the series-deciding match starting on Saturday.

“It’s a big game. Quinton is someone who you don’t just replace. From my side, I am trying to have Quinton in my team all the time,” du Plessis told reporters in Hamilton.

“He has had problems with his fingers for quite a while. It’s part of being a keeper. It’s never nice to catch balls on the fingertips all the time and it’s been painful for him for a while.

“Maybe the cold New Zealand conditions make it worse. It’s hurting for him a bit more now but because it’s a big game, resting him for someone else is not an option.”

Benzema refuses to give up on France recall

PARIS: Frozen-out star forward Karim Benzema wants showdown talks with France coach Didier Deschamps about his international future and said on Thursday he hasn’t given up hope of a recall.

The 29-year-old Real Madrid striker has not been picked by Deschamps since October 2015 after being embroiled in a sex-tape blackmail scandal involving former international teammate Mathieu Valbuena.

It cost him a place in France’s Euro 2016 squad and with Atletico Madrid’s Antoine Griezmann now the undisputed first-choice forward for France, Benzema remains out in the cold.

But with the World Cup in Russia next year, he hasn’t given up hope.

“For now I haven’t ended my international career, I don’t want to give up,” Benzema told RMC radio station.

“It’s tough (to be left out) when you play in a big club. Me, I love football, the big matches. The national team is top-class matches.”

Benzema was booted out of the squad, along with Valbuena — the victim of an alleged attempted blackmail — due to the scandal.