Freddie backed to do power of good

The 31-year-old all-rounder returns to action in the third encounter of the five-match one-day series having been on the sidelines for the last month with hip problems. He makes his comeback at the Kensington Oval to an England side who have been out-played during the batting power plays during the opening two games.

"He's sounding very confident about his body and he's raring to go," enthused England skipper Andrew Strauss. "You could almost see in the nets how excited he is about getting onto a cricket pitch again."

He added: "Freddie is one of those guys who can win you a game with either bat or ball in international cricket, which is very, very rare. He's got the potential to have a decisive impact on the series."

Flintoff's ability to hit big shots will certainly be useful to England after they struggled to amass 17 and 32 from their previous two attempts to maximise their scoring.

"I think the batting power play definitely adds a different dynamic to one-day cricket," explained Strauss. "You have to decide when to take it, how late to take it and how many wickets you need in hand in order to make best use of it.

"From a fielding point of view it also gives you the opportunity to take wickets when the game might be going away from you.

"It definitely adds a new dynamic in there and my view is that wickets in hand towards the back end of the game are even more important now with the batting power players than they have been in the past."

England are expecting a quicker wicket in Bridgetown than they experienced last week in Guyana which is expected to leave off-spinner Gareth Batty as the most vulnerable player to make way for Flintoff's return.

Durham fast bowler Steve Harmison, who bowled particularly well in the second match in Guyana, could also come under threat.