Andrew Flintoff returned to The Oval and delivered another timely showcase of his talents to swing the momentum back in England's favour and keep them on course for a summer clean sweep at the final npower Test against West Indies.

A year on from his spellbinding 95 at the same ground which helped to beat South Africa and launched him on an incredible 12 months of success which has established Flintoff as the box office star of English cricket, the Lancashire all-rounder once again grabbed centre stage to prevent West Indies claiming the honours on the opening day.

Until Flintoff's brilliant 72, which guided England to a competitive 313 for five by the close, they had struggled to make the most of another good Oval batting surface after winning the toss with West Indies' attack maintaining their discipline to restrict scoring opportunities and make inroads into the strong batting line-up.

But their carefully-prepared gameplan was shattered in a crucial final session with Flintoff letting loose and helping to add 167 crucial runs off 40 overs to ensure the advantage remained with England as they chase their seventh successive Test triumph of the summer.

Flintoff hammered 13 boundaries during his 92-ball innings and passed 50 for his eighth successive innings, a feat only bettered by two players - John Edrich and Alec Stewart - in English cricket history, while he also passed 2,000 Test runs after reaching 60.

His innings, though, was far more important than mere milestones if only because it crushed a spirited West Indies response to the prospect of suffering a humiliating series whitewash for the first time under Brian Lara's captaincy.

Galvanised by the possibilities of that outcome, the tourists kept England under control for the best part of two sessions and reduced them to 64 for three by frustrating their attempts to score at an aggressive rate.

Andrew Strauss mis-timed a pull off fast bowler Jermaine Lawson and was caught at mid-wicket shortly before lunch and Marcus Trescothick clipped straight to square leg shortly after the interval while Robert Key edged behind four balls later.

With the day's honours and possible control of the Test at stake, it was a highly-pressurised introduction to Test cricket for debutant Ian Bell as he strode nervously out to the crease for his maiden innings at senior international level.

He did not have to wait long to discover just how tough it can be, either, with Fidel Edwards hitting him on the shoulder with the tenth ball he faced to delay the match by five minutes while physio Kirk Russell administered treatment.

Captain Michael Vaughan, utilising the experience of 50 Test appearances, tried his best to settle the 22-year-old's nerves with frequent walks down the wicket to have chats and offer general encouragement.

It did not stop Bell making a very nervy start, getting off the mark with a streaky four through the slips off Edwards, but from that moment he began to prosper and played with increasing confidence during a 146-run stand with his captain that halted England's slide.

Playing in the same uncomplicated manner that has enabled him to score six centuries towards Warwickshire's championship challenge, Bell was outscoring Vaughan when their stand came to halt as he edged a lifting Lawson delivery behind to wicketkeeper Carlton Baugh.

By then Bell had scored a highly-encouraging 70 in two and a half hours at the crease, perhaps not enough to oust Mark Butcher from the tour party to South Africa being announced on Wednesday but enough of an impact to ensure nobody in England's top order can rest easy if they have a loss of form.

Vaughan followed the youngster back to the dressing room five overs later with a tired-looking jab at a full-length delivery from all-rounder Dwayne Bravo which was taken by Lara at slip and, at 236 for five with 21 overs of the day remaining, West Indies were very much in the ascendancy.

Just as he had done against South Africa 12 months previously, however, Flintoff propelled England back into the match by capitalising on a succession of loose deliveries and raced to 30 off just 19 balls having been given a hero's welcome on his march out to the crease.

Supported by Geraint Jones, the pair were able to hit 26 boundaries between tea and the close and continue an Oval tradition of high-scoring opening days - it is the fourth successive year that over 300 runs have been scored - to ensure England once again finished on top.