Sussex skipper Chris Adams believes James Kirtley is ready for promotion to the full England team.

Kirtley, who went on the A team tour to Bangladesh and New Zealand last winter, passed 50 wickets for the season when he took a season's best 6-41 as Northamptonshire were bowled out for 110 on the opening day of the Championship match on his home ground at Eastbourne.

The 25-year-old has now claimed 52 first-class victims, 33 of them in the last month, and Adams, the last Sussex player to play for his country, believes Kirtley should be on the plane to Pakistan and Sri Lanka later this year.

"Knowing how he performs on flat wickets at Hove I think James should go to Pakistan as the spare seamer," said Adams.

"He did well on the A tour last winter so the selectors know all about him and I think he would do very well out in Pakistan. The least he should expect is another A tour.

"He has performed consistently for the last six weeks or so when he has bowled as well as anyone in the country.

"He works hard at his game, is very ambitious and wants so badly to succeed at the highest level."

Kirtley, who won the Championship's best bowler award last month, admitted he had made the most of ideal conditions yesterday when the ball swung consistently all day.

He took two wickets in his first seven overs before returning after lunch to claim four more victims including Russell Warren for 29.

He said: "A lot has been said about the pitch, but people who think it's a poor one are getting over-excited.

"Conditions were ideal for swing bowling. There was no excessive lateral movement and although one or two bounced that is not unusual for Eastbourne.

"I was pleased with the way I bowled and hopefully I can keep it going for the rest of the season."

ECB inspector Mike Denness is obliged to report the pitch after more than 15 wickets fell on the day, but it is unlikely Sussex will face a points deduction and instead the well-grassed surface is likely to be marked below average.

Chris Adams underpinned Sussex's reply of 151-9 with a brave unbeaten 82, his highest Championship score since June 1.