England, Bell brush off injury scare

Ian Bell is set to play in Thursday's third Test after putting an ankle injury scare to one side.

The Warwickshire batsman, due to bat at four as a replacement for the injured Kevin Pietersen, turned his right ankle during a football warm-up on Monday.

But he underwent a fitness test at Edgbaston on Tuesday afternoon, running while fully kitted out in his batting gear to ensure his ankle was okay.

Team-mate Graham Onions later told Sky Sports that Bell was "fine".

''Ian is fine,'' he said.

''He has deserved his place in the team, and I am pretty sure he is 99 per cent fit.''

As for his own readiness and that of all-rounder Andrew Flintoff, Onions appears still more certain there will be no last-minute hitches.

''I did take a little bit of a blow on the hand,'' he confirmed.

''It's got a plaster on it - but it's fine.''

On Flintoff, he added: ''I am almost 100 per cent sure he will be fit.''