James Kirtley's place in the England team should not come under threat if Darren Gough is picked for tomorrow's match against Sri Lanka.

Gough has pronounced himself fit for selection for the third game of the NatWest Series which takes place on his home ground of Headingley.

The Yorkshire fast bowler was being given an extensive fitness test at practice today having successfully bowled ten overs during a second team game on Friday.

Providing he can convince England's management he is ready to return, he is almost certain to be named in the starting line-up.

Sussex fast bowler Kirtley has proved his effectiveness both with the new ball and bowling at the conclusion of an innings in the first two matches, while Ronnie Irani has impressed with his composure following his recall for this series.

That leaves Matthew Hoggard as the man most likely to miss out if Gough regains his place.

Hoggard has struggled for consistency this summer and failed to find his rhythm once again during Saturday's six-wicket defeat by India at Lord's.

He conceded 62 runs from only 8.5 overs on Saturday, which followed an equally unconvincing performance during the warm-up match against Wales in Cardiff when his seven overs cost 63 runs, including 24 off one over, and he also delivered eight no-balls and two wides.

Coach Duncan Fletcher said: "He's struggling with line and length a bit and consistency.

"That's something we have to worry about, but the ball hasn't really swung and his forte is when the ball swings.

"When it does that he's really potent, but when it doesn't he's still a little bit inexperienced at this stage and he will have to learn more about variations."

England's big dilemma is whether to show faith, as they did after a poor display in the opening Test at Lord's against Sri Lanka earlier this summer when Hoggard repaid them with a seven-wicket match haul during the victory at Edgbaston, or to take him out of the spotlight so he can regain his confidence.

Fletcher said: "We want him to bowl to some degree and you just try and get through with some characters.

"We did that with Andrew Flintoff when he didn't have a good run at some stage and we just kept him going.

"We'll have to look at that and address it. We'll have to have a lot of discussions over the next couple of days and see what we're going to do about it."

He added: "You're going to find that with inexperienced players, that they go up and down.

"The difference is that experienced players know how to go through bad spells and inexperienced players get more of a knock.

"I wouldn't go as far as saying his confidence is fragile because he's quite a confident guy in many ways, but it does take quite a lot of character for these players to maintain their top form."

If England take the plunge and decide to replace Hoggard with Gough, it is likely to be the only change to their line-up with Fletcher otherwise impressed with the way the team has performed.