England's Mascarenhas receives Twenty20 call

LONDON, Sep 9 (Reuters) All-rounder Dimitri Mascarenhas was drafted into England's Twenty20 World Cup squad in place of injured seamer Ryan Sidebottom.

There were also doubts about all-rounder Andrew Flintoff and paceman Chris Tremlett but the pair have been passed fit for the tournament in South Africa which starts next week, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said in a statement yesterday.

Left-armer Sidebottom has not fully recovered from a side strain.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) must now ratify the call-up of Mascarenhas.

England have already been given ICC approval to replace another injured player, Ravi Bopara, with James Anderson.

Anderson was the fourth replacement player to be called up for the competition.

Andre Nel had been drafted in by South Africa for Loots Bosman, Dilruwan Perera replaced Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan and Ben Hilfenhaus was approved as a stand-in for Australia's Shaun Tait.

The Twenty20 will be held on Sept. 11-24, with England's first match against Zimbabwe in Cape Town on Thursday.

REUTERS BJR HS1022