Kirtley and Gidman called for A duty

At the end of a hard season, James Kirtley had something to celebrate in 2006 © Getty Images

The turnaround in James Kirtley's career continues after he was called up to the England A squad in Bangladesh. Alex Gidman, the Gloucestershire allrounder, has also been drafted in after Amjad Khan flew home and Ravi Bopara was named in the World Cup team.

Less than a year ago Kirtley was forced to undergo remedial work on his action and struggled at the beginning of the 2006 season with Sussex. However, the summer ended in memorable style as he bowled his team to victory in the C&G final against Lancashire.

As England's one-day team struggled there was talk that Kirtley could be in line for a recall but the selectors opted to stick with the young attack. But with the World Cup coinciding with the A tour in Bangladesh many of England's pacemen are already in action so the door has been opened for Kirtley.

Meanwhile Gidman, 25, has another opportunity to impress after he was forced home from the 2004 tour of Malaysia and India with a hand injury, a tour on which he had been named as captain. His form dropped off in subsequent seasons but last year there were signs of him maturing with 1244 first-class runs at 49.

David Graveney, said: "We are particularly disappointed for Amjad Khan because he had only recently qualified to play for England and we hope that he makes a speedy recovery."

The first Test against Bangladesh A starts in Mirpur on Thursday.