BLOEMFONTEIN - Local hero Hansie Cronje provided the batting fireworks after which South Africa again rubbed the West Indies nose in the muck heap of another embarrassing limited-overs defeat last night.

This one was on a balmy evening at Springbok Park as the tourists succumbed to a batting display so poor by even club standards that it was all over in 40.3 overs with victory by 115 runs and over so early the near-record crowd could have clamored for the ``money back option''.

It gave South Africa, who scored 273 in their innings, a 5-1 lead going into the final match of the Standard Bank series at SuperSport Centurion tomorrow. Just how many changes can be expected tomorrow no doubt depends on what the selectors are hoping to gain out the exercise.

There are also some doubts whether Brian Lara is prepared to risk the arm injury with the Australian tour in mind later this month.

Set a target of 274 off 300 balls was always going to be a more than your average ant heap to climb; mind you the way they batted gave the impression the Windies had practised on little better during the slog circus.

It was all pretty gutless, although Shivnarine Chanderpaul looked a cut above the rest. At least he played a couple of memorable shots: whether the crowd besotted by the success of the opening spell from Shaun Pollock and Victor Mpitsang carried any memory of a well-placed cut is another matter.

The rest of the West Indies performance was totally forgettable. And when Carl Hooper went on the slog, only to be caught at deep extra cover by the evergreen Pat Symcox, it showed the desperation of a side which, mentally seemed to have forgotten what the tour was all about.

At one stage man of the match Cronje gave the impression he was taunting the visitors with three slips and two gullys when Jacques Kallis was bowling. He also batted with a touch of tactical sensibility and the cleverness of a man know what he wanted out of his innings.

With Dale Benkenstein in tow the pair added 94 off 96 balls, rotating the score with smart running between wickets. Cronje scored his 82 at better than a run a ball and with Benkenstein adding 33, although his fluency was curbed by Windies tactics, the partnership lifted South Africa toward the 270 plus Cronje had hoped.

Once Pollock, who ended with three for 20 had removed Chanderpaul the collapso followed: at 82 for eight it was a matter of waiting for the end. At one stage there was doubt whether they would make it past the 132 scored at Newlands, their lowest LOI score in South Africa. At least it gave Rawl Lewis a chance to put together his highest LOI innings of 59.

The local lad, Mpitsang, making his limited-overs debut recovered from an indifferent first couple of overs to sit on a hat-trick at one stage. He first bowled Nixon McLean after being twice carted for fours earlier in the over. Then bowled Darren Ganga first ball the next over for a duck, the ball going into the stumps off the edge.

Windies skipper Hooper survived the hat-trick ball.

There was even the impression that Curtly Ambrose could no longer stomach having to bowl the way he was being plastered around the oval. It was not a pretty sight as Cronje took on the Antiguan with a couple of big boundaries off the tall fast bowler. One off-drive gave the fieldsmen no chance at all.

The wheels of this particular West Indies bus had not so much come off as being hijacked. In the end he was reduced to bowling off 5 metres and the touch of pride he had carried with him throughout this tour had disappeared as the runs flowed.

In the end Hooper had to rely on himself to bowl out the overs, slipping in Rawl Lewis and Keith Semple in a bid to support a tired performance. Reon King's efforts were barely noticed as the runs flowed from the other end. At least, like Hooper, he went for less than 3.5 an over.

Through it all the packed ground indulged in its favourite past time the mindless antics of yet another wave and missing out on the action out in the middle. Then they became bored and began their streaking exercises to test the ability of the local security.