Bridgetown: England hope that the return of Andrew Flintoff will spark a revival in the third One-Day International against West Indies at Kensington Oval on Friday.

Flintoff is set to return to the England line-up from his latest injury - a hip strain - for a match that could ultimately swing the series decisively.

The five-match series is tied 1-1 after a double-header in Guyana, where England fortuitously won the opening game last Friday, when West Indies accepted bad light thinking they were ahead on the Duckworth-Lewis tables.

He replaces Devon Smith, who did not play in either of the first two ODIs, and it's hard to see him fitting into the batting at this time, since Lendl Simmons has slotted into the position and offers West Indies another bowling option.

Rampaul played the last of his 30 ODIs against South Africa last year in Johannesburg, but he has had a chequered career in which has been badly affected by injury.

Captain Chris Gayle rubbished rumors of West Indies boycotting the rest of the One-Day International series against England because of another dispute with the national cricket board.

The third One-dayer in the five-match series is on Friday. "There wasn't any threat made about boycotting any games, not to my knowledge," Gayle said after training on Thursday.

The West Indies Players Association (WIPA) and the WICB met in Barbados over the past two days to discuss players' concerns over a range of issues.

WIPA president Dinanath Ramnarine, in tendering his resignation from the WICB last week, said that chief among the problems was the WICB's continued bypassing of WIPA on important decisions.

Uncapped Barbados batsman Dale Richards and Trinidad fast bowler Ravi Rampaul have been included in the West Indies squad. Richards, an opening batsman, replaced Devon Smith who did not play in either of the first two ODIs.

Match facts
Friday March 27
Start time 09.30 am local (13.30 GMT)