LONDON, March 17: Warwickshire teenager Ian Bell was scheduled to fly out to New Zealand 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.

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.—Reuters