Bell joins England Twenty20 squad as cover

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.

(Reuters)

"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 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.

(Reporting By Sam Holden; editing by Josh Reich)