Cricket: Jet-set Bell has perfect landing.

Byline: MIKE WALTERS

ENGLAND new boy Ian Bell racked up more air miles than a Thunderbirds pilot the last time he answered a Test SOS from Lord's.

So a leisurely tootle down the motorway yesterday made a nice change for the latest addition to Michael Vaughan's winning machine.

Two and a half years after his futile 24,000-mile round trip to New Zealand as emergency cover, Bell finally wins his first cap at The Oval in tomorrow's final npower Test against the West Indies.

In early 2002, Warwickshire's -prolific batsman had not even unpacked his bags following a stint at the academy in Australia when he was summoned all the way back to Wellington after Mark Butcher suffered a cracked thumb.Barely 24 hours after arriving home in the Midlands, Bell returned Down Under - only for the first five sessions of the Test to be washed out, allowing Butcher just enough extra healing time to declare himself fit.

To add insult to inactivity, Bell was then overlooked at the start of the following summer.

Bell lost form, lost heart and lost his place in the pecking order, but six county championship centuries this season have earned him the chance to join England's shot at an unprecedented 4-0 whitewash of the Windies. And he is certain to replace Graham Thorpe at The Oval after the Surrey left-hander broke a finger during his man-of-the-match century at Old Trafford on Sunday.

While Robert Key and Freddie Flintoff were guiding England home by seven wickets in Manchester to complete their sixth Test win in a row, Bell was out shopping in Birmingham when chairman of selectors David Graveney rang with some overdue good news.

Bell said: "I've had a couple of years of hard graft since I was last called up and it's nice to know I'm in the frame."

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BIG HIT: Bell wins his first England cap at The Oval tomorrow