JON Lewis claims his form "is as good as it's ever been,'' as he tries to make it fourth time lucky for England.

The Swindon seamer, 30, has been on the fringes of Test contention for some time and was handed a call into the 13-man squad for the First Test against Sri Lanka, which starts on Thursday.

Lewis, who has been in three previous Test squads, bagged nine wickets in England A's thrashing of the tourists at Worcester on Saturday, earning him his latest call.

Now he hopes to finally make his Test nod at the home of cricket later this week.

Lewis said: "I want to play and I'm really happy with my form.

"The conditions (at Worcester) were in my favour but you still have to utilise them.

"There were four other bowlers playing (in the England A match) and they didn't get as many wickets as me. You also have to perform in county cricket and I've done that.'' Meanwhile, Ian Bell has become the first Ashes hero to pay the price for his failure to perform after being ousted from his No 3 spot.

Warwickshire batsman Bell was the major casualty in a 13-man squad announced by chairman of selectors David Graveney yesterday, which will be captained by Andrew Flintoff and includes uncapped seamers Sajid Mahmood as well as Lewis.

England are yet to finalise their starting line-up for Lord's on Thursday but they have already confirmed Bell will not play at three, with Essex's Alastair Cook ahead of him in the pecking order.

Cook and Bell are among five players under 25 in the squad with Northamptonshire spinner Monty Panesar, who fought off competition from the more experienced Shaun Udal to retain his place.

Durham seamer Liam Plunkett and Mahmood make up the squad after the selectors' plans were decimated by injuries with Steve Harmison (shin), Ashley Giles (hernia), Simon Jones (knee) and James Anderson (back) ruled out.