James Kirtley says his surprise call-up to the England one-day squad is "a dream come true."

The Sussex vice-captain flies out this weekend to prepare for the VB Series triangular tournament in Australia, which also involves Sri Lanka, as replacement for Darren Gough whose career is threatened by a serious knee injury.

Kirtley was given the good news by chairman of selectors David Graveney yesterday. He will fly out on Sunday with the one-day specialists who are augmenting the squad already in Australia for the Test series.

He said: "It's a dream come true, I'm absolutely chuffed to be going out there. I think every English cricketer dreams of going to Australia. The pitches, facilities and grounds are the best in the world and it's great to be involved in international cricket again.

"It gives me the opportunity to play against the some of the best players in the world on some of the best pitches in the world, so it is the ultimate test for me. It is sad that Goughie is unfit but it gives me a chance to show what I can do.

Graveney added: "I am sure James will play a full part in the upcoming series in Australia."

England play the first of three warm-up games on December 6 against New South Wales. The triangular series starts a week later against Australia in Sydney.

They also play Sri Lanka four times with the opener in Brisbane on December 15.

Kirtley was called-up to the one-day squad for the first time last October when he played three games against Zimbabwe, but his tour ended in disappointment when his action was reported by the match referee Nashuat Ali.

He spent last winter re-modelling his action which was subsequently cleared by the ICC in March and the 27-year-old regained his England place during the summer, playing twice against Sri Lanka and India before he suffered a broken wrist during net practice and was ruled out for four weeks.

After claiming more than 50 first class wickets for the fourth successive season, he went to Sri Lanka in September for the Champions Trophy but did not play in either of England's two matches.

Things should be different in Australia where England will play a minimum of 11 games as they step up preparations ahead of the World Cup in South Africa which starts in February.

Kirtley added: "The World Cup is a long way off at the moment, although obviously this is an opportunity to stake my claim, especially as we are going to be playing a lot of cricket.

"It was obviously disappointing not to play in the Champions Trophy, but I prefer to look on the positive side.

"A year ago things weren't looking too rosy for me so to be going to Australia now is the stuff dreams are made of."

Sussex coach Peter Moores believes Kirtley can be a success down under, especially in unsettling the left-handers at the top of Australia's order, an important factor after the success enjoyed by Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer in the first Test a fortnight ago.

He said: "James has taken over 125 wickets in his last 25 first-class games and there is no one in domestic cricket who can touch that record. Every time James has stepped up in class he has risen to the standard.

"He has got both Hayden and Langer out in county cricket before. Because of the angle he bowls at and his ability to swing the ball he gets lots of lbws against lefthanders andnd he's a scrapper."

Kirtley does have some experience of Australian conditions, having coached the Eastbourne College students last winter then they toured Sydney and Melbourne.

"I know a little of what to expect out there," he added. "Since I came back from Sri Lanka I've been in the gym and bowled regularly in the nets and I'm thankful that I did that. It means I can go to Australia in pretty good shape."