Chris Jordan has been tipped to achieve “something special” with England – by the man who showed him the door at Surrey.

Chris Adams made the decision to release Jordan when he was director of cricket at the Oval at the end of the 2012 season and has since seen the 25-year-old become one of the hottest prospects in the country.

Adams admits he has not been surprised by Jordan's transformation following his switch to Sussex and expects him to make the step up to Test level this summer.

And the former Sussex captain insists he harbours no regrets about letting Jordan go and believes the seamer needed a fresh start to finally realise his potential.

Adams said: “Chris's time at Surrey was blighted by injury and we never quite got him 100% fit and firing.

“At some stage you have to see some return on your investment and Surrey perhaps held on to Chris for a year or two too long.

“I felt he needed a fresh start somewhere else. He needed to reinvent himself and has done that at Sussex.

“When you go to a new county you have a clean slate and can decide who you want to be and he has got off to the best possible start. He is fit and strong and the look in his eyes suggests he is on the verge of doing something very special in the next few years.

“He has clearly connected well with the staff at Sussex which is no surprise. His future is going to be very bright. All the signs so far are good.

“Even at Surrey he looked like a Test cricketer but he was not able to consistently deliver performances at the end of the day. When you add the periods he had out through injury, it was no surprise that Chris got frustrated.

“But if he keeps bowling well I expect that at some point during the summer he will be in with a chance of being selected for a Test match.”

Adams was back at Hove yesterday in his new coaching role with Sri Lanka for their T20 match against Sussex.

He has been impressed with the start his former club have made to the season but says their hopes of ending a four year wait for silverware could depend on the availability of Jordan along with fellow internationals Luke Wright and Matt Prior.

Adams added: “Sussex have started the season very well and if they can keep everyone fit and are not hampered too much by international call-ups then they will be there or thereabouts at the end of the season.

“But if they lose Chris Jordan along with the likes of Luke Wright and Matt Prior then life will become much more difficult for them, especially if they have any injuries to key players too.”

“Mark asked me to come and do some work with them in pre-season and the commitment and desire to do well was as strong as I can remember from my day.”