Gros Islet: England skipper Andrew Strauss believes Andy Flower should be handed the job of coach on a permanent basis with the formidable mission of reclaiming the Ashes this summer.

Flower, the former Zimbabwe batsman, took over for the tour of the Caribbean after Peter Moores was dismissed in January following a fall-out with then captain Kevin Pietersen.

England lost the Test series to the West Indies 1-0 but Flower then masterminded a 3-2 victory in the one-day series which ended here on Friday.

"All I can say is that I've worked very well with him," Strauss told Sky Sports after England's win here, their first one-day series triumph in the Caribbean.

"I don't think he's put a foot wrong all tour - he's been a fantastic help to me. I hope our relationship can continue, but it's not my decision.

"The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) are the only ones who know who the other candidates are and they've got to sift through those and decide who the best man is for England moving forward.

"I hope they take my views into account, but they look at things from a different point of view sometimes. The other coaches I wouldn't have worked with, so it's hard for me to comment on them, but from all of our views we hope the situation is cleared up sooner rather than later."

Star all-rounder Andrew Flintoff, who took a hat-trick in a man-of-the-match performance in Friday's concluding match, which was won by 26 runs, also backed Flower to be handed the coaching job full-time.

"Andy's done a good job," said Flintoff. "I think a coach is only as good as his team - how the team play.

"You saw that with Peter (Moores) before Christmas, as a team we didn't play that well. As a team, up until the one-day series we could have done better.

"So Andy, he's done a good job with the lads, he's popular, he wants the best for the team - every day he turns up at practice and tries to make the team better and I don't think you can ask for any more from a coach."