The Natal cricket team once again saved their worst for their home fans when they surrendered to a magnificent Western Province bowling attack in their Standard Bank League match at Kingsmead on Sunday.

Chasing 218 on a fine batting pitch, Natal were bowled out for a dismal 107 as their batsmen failed miserably in the face of disciplined, superbly accurate bowling by the visitors. Spinner Paul Adams did most of the damage as he picked up three for 12 in seven excellent overs, but seamers Eric Simons, Craig Matthews and Alan Dawson were the players who had the Natal innings on the skids from the outset.

Although Andrew Hudson, back to the opening position he made his name in, batted with his usual elegance in making 47 off 66 balls, his partner Doug Watson, the hero of the win over Border two days' earlier, battled to get going and his innings of six off 32 balls meant the other Natal batsmen were under pressure from the word go.

Hudson and captain Errol Stewart gave some hope with a third-wicket stand of 40 off 55 balls, but once Adams caught and bowled both of them, the rest of the batsmen, with four teenagers (Kent, Rowley, Wingfield and Pieterson) pressed into service in the middle-order, did not have the wherewithal to get the better of the experienced Western Province attack.

Having been omitted from the preliminary squad, Adams is going to have to go all out to make it to the World Cup later this year, but he showed his use in limited-overs cricket Sunday, bowling with precision and excellent flight as he removed probably the three most dangerous batsmen in the Natal line-up (Hudson, Stewart and Kent).

The Western Province pacemen were equally impressive, bowling on one side of the wicket and keeping the batsmen under constant pressure. The fact that they bowled only one wide proved the noteworthiness of their effort.

That Western Province made as many as 217 was thanks to Ashwell Prince, who hammered 26 off just 14 balls at the death, after HD Ackerman had given the innings a solid foundation.

Province went into the last five overs with just 162 on the board, but Ackerman, in his highest limited-overs score, batted through to the end to finish on 85 not out, and, with Paul Kirsten (20 off 18 balls) and Prince providing the fireworks at the other end, the visitors smashed 55 off the last 30 balls.

Brian McMillan had earlier made a plodding 32, while Natal seamers Jannie Dreyer (two for 25), Wade Wingfield (one for 34) and Jon Kent (five overs for 18) all returned tidy figures. Gary Gilder was taken apart at the end of the innings, while there was a worrying casualness in the Natal fielding at times.

Starting with their shock defeat at the hands of North-West in October, Natal have lost all five of their home matches in the Standard Bank League and they are now genuine contenders for having to go through the playoffs to reach the Standard Bank Cup.