Five-star Flintoff inspires England win

The Lancashire all-rounder returned from an anxious week worrying about a left-thumb injury sustained last week to claim only England's third one-day international hat-trick.

Flintoff followed Lancashire team-mate Jimmy Anderson and best friend Steve Harmison in achieving the feat and in doing so secured England's first one-day series win in the Caribbean.

He also finished with career-best figures of five for 19 as West Indies were dismissed for 146 in reply to England's 172 for nine in a match reduced to 29 overs by rain.

His efforts completed a remarkable turnaround for the tourists on a tour where they lost their coach and captain just weeks before it began and then suffered a surprise Test series defeat.

They were not expected to regroup and claim the one-day series honours, but having come from 2-1 down to level the series in Barbados last week, Flintoff inspired their historic triumph at the Beasejour Stadium.

The victory should also boost the future employment prospects of captain Andrew Strauss and stand-in coach Andy Flower, who were both appointed at short notice following the departures of Kevin Pietersen and Peter Moores for their failure to establish a working relationship.

Former Zimbabwe captain Flower is due to be interviewed by the England and Wales Cricket Board next week for the position of permanent coach while Strauss has shown his credentials in one-day cricket, two years after being discarded by the selectors in this format of cricket.

Strauss' form with the bat played a major role in England's success during the series but in the deciding match, it was the accuracy of Flintoff's pace bowling which decided the contest.

He had already set the tone for England's victory with a stunning early spell of 3-0-7-2 to remove Ramnaresh Sarwan and opener Lendl Simmons and leave West Indies chasing the game.