Injury-hit England call up Ian Bell
Warwickshire teenager Ian Bell will fly out to New Zealand on Sunday to increase England's batting options for the second and third Tests, the BBC website reported.
Mark Butcher has been ruled out of the second match with a broken hand, while captain Nasser Hussain suffered a finger injury during the first Test, which the tourists won by 98 runs on Saturday.
The 19-year-old Bell has played only 13 first-class matches but made an impression on the England A tour of West Indies last year and recently enjoyed a successful spell at the Cricket Academy in Adelaide, Australia.
"We're trying to move away from the old statement that you need to play four years of county cricket to qualify for selection," David Graveney, England's chairman of selectors, told BBC Radio Five Live.
Hussain is optimistic he will be fit to lead his team in the second Test, which starts in Wellington on Thursday.
Mail Cricket Editor
(C) 2000 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similiar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters and the Reuters Sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.
