PORT ELIZABETH, South Africa, Dec 2 (AFP) - The touring West Indies cricket team remained without a win after five matches in South Africa when they were surprisingly beaten by an Eastern Province Invitation XI Wednesday in Zwide, a black township here.

Their third defeat was somewhat artificial, however, with rain meaning

calculators were necessary to decide a winner.

The West Indies made 239 for eight in 46 overs while the relatively-inexperienced Invitation XI were 209 for six after 38.1 overs.

On the Duckworth-Lewis system now being employed in rain-hit games, the home side were three runs better off when a downpour brought the match to an end.

The Invitation XI were originally chasing a revised target of 257 off 46 overs.

That was always going to be a tough target, but with Graham Grace and Justin Kemp pounding out a third-wicket partnership of 118 off just 129 balls they were well in the hunt.

Kemp hit two fours and five sixes in his 64 off 63 balls.

Grace stayed on to push it to 202, before top-edging a Nixon McLean delivery to sky for a comfortable catch to behind the wicket.

His 70 off 109 balls, however, had got his side close enough and the weather and the Duckworth-Lewis system did the rest.

While the West Indies won't be too concerned over their latest loss, it showed that the missing pieces to their puzzle are still not dropping into place.

As luck would have it, replacement Floyd Reifer, an unlikely Test candidate and a spectator up until Wednesday's clash, produced the best innings of the day - a man-of-the-match-winning 93 scored off 100 balls.

And opener Philo Wallace, who didn't have a good first Test, popped up with a swashbuckling 56 off 63 balls.
Date-stamped : 03 Dec1998 - 10:37