Bell joins England Twenty20 squad as cover

Ian Bell is to join England`s squad for the Twenty20 series in the West Indies as cover for injured batsmen Eoin Morgan and Alex Hales.

Test stalwart Bell had originally been rested for the three-match series of one-day internationals in Antigua but will join up with the squad ahead of the first T20 game in Barbados on March 9. "He is a world-class player, a world-class fielder and a world-class bloke so we look forward to meeting up with him," coach Ashley Giles told the England and Wales Cricket Board`s website (www.ecb.co.uk) on Saturday. The 31-year-old Bell`s call-up comes after he was left out of England`s 30-strong squad for the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh later this month. Morgan and Hales missed Friday`s 15-run defeat in the opening ODI with knee and thigh problems respectively.