Bell pips Pietersen for Test spot

It was nice to get out on some good batting pitches at Edgbaston and put my hat into the ring Ian Bell More reaction Jonathan Agnew's view

England's selectors have named batsman Ian Bell and uncapped Gloucestershire seamer Jon Lewis in their 12-man squad for the first Test against Bangladesh.

But there is no place for Kevin Pietersen, who has struggled for form since an impressive one-day series in South Africa earlier this year.

Bell made his debut last year, making 70 against West Indies at The Oval.

He has had an outstanding start to the season with Warwickshire, with 482 runs so far at an average of 80.33.

"Ian's selection means that Rob Key misses out, which is unfortunate for him ," said chairman of selectors David Graveney.

"Kevin Pietersen was also discussed as an option within the middle order.

"But the selectors decided to opt for the experience of Graham Thorpe whom we hope will recover from injury in time to win his 99th Test cap."

While I rate both Bell and Pietersen I personally put Pietersen ahead between the two in terms of talent From SV Have your say on TMS

Thorpe has been suffering from a recurrence of an old back injury but expects to be fit in time for Bangladesh's first ever Test in England, beginning at Lord's on 26 May.

Graveney made it clear that final decisions on the line-up would be made by coach Duncan Fletcher and captain Michael Vaughan closer to the match.

Andrew Flintoff is included as he continues to recover from ankle surgery, but his bowling load is likely to be decided after consultation with chief medical officer Dr Peter Gregory.

New among the bowlers, Lewis, 29, has an outstanding record for Gloucestershire, for whom he has taken 489 first-class wickets.

But the closest he has so far come to Test cricket was a call to be an injury stand-by during the fifth Test of the winter series in South Africa.

He has leapfrogged the centrally-contracted James Anderson into the side but his place could depend on Simon Jones's recovery from back trouble.

"He's been in prolific form for Gloucestershire, outstanding in the academy and deserves his chance to be in the squad," Graveney added.

"Whether he plays will be down to Michael and Duncan."

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England squad:

Batsmen: M P Vaughan (Capt), I R Bell, M E Trescothick, A J Strauss, G P Thorpe

Wicket-keeper: G O Jones. All-rounder: A Flintoff

Bowlers: A F Giles, M J Hoggard, S J Harmison, J Lewis, SP Jones