England captain Michael Vaughan has told the critics to leave James Kirtley alone.

The Sussex and England seamer was back in the spotlight on Tuesday after his bowling action was once again called into question.

Reports had suggested match referee Clive Lloyd wanted to examine pictures of Kirtley's action from two years ago after watching him in the second Test against Sri Lanka in Kandy.

Kirtley was reported in 2001 during a one-day series in Zimbabwe but has since undergone extensive remedial work with England bowling coach Bob Cottam and Sussex's Director of Cricket Peter Moores.

Lloyd, however, denied he requested any footage of Kirtley's action and now Vaughan wants Kirtley to be allowed to get on with playing.

The England skipper said: "They should leave the lad alone and let him get on with his cricket.

"What you get with James Kirtley is 100 per cent effort and he is a thinking cricketer.

"He has bowled on very flat wickets at Hove all his career and on a similar wicket at Kandy we saw him be very threatening to their players at various stages."

Sussex director of cricket Peter Moores added: "It is a shame. He got in the side on merit. He got in there ahead of (James) Anderson, (Matthew) Hoggard and (Paul) Johnson and I thought he bowled quite well in the Test match.

"This takes the focus away from the main thing which is his bowling and how well he is doing at the moment."