POWELL

KARACHI, Pakistan (CMC):

West Indies fast bowler Daren Powell said yesterday the pitches in Pakistan had been inconsistent and he had been forced to "adjust in order to bowl on them."

"It's cricket, and whatever we are given to play on, we have to play on it. It's slow, and a couple of balls kept low, but once you bowl straight and apply pressure there is something in it," Powell told reporters at the end of the first day's play of the third and final Test against Pakistan at Karachi.

"I believe from the third day the ball will keep lower than what I saw today because I remember Jerome (Taylor) bowled a couple of short balls to Inzamam (Ul-Haq) which didn't get up anywhere, and I tried also and the ball lobbed to the keeper. I believe on the third day things are going to be happening."

Slow track

Making reference to the pitch used for the second Test in Multan and the current one in Karachi, the 28-year-old Powell admitted that it had been difficult to maintain discipline while bowling because of the slow, low nature of the tracks.

"It's kind of difficult because sometimes you look for the ball to get off the wicket but when you look at the game last week we finished the (first) day with three or four wickets and in this game we picked up seven wickets so it's a case of being like a giraffe - adapting to the situation," Powell explained.

'Pretty happy'

Despite the unresponsive wicket, West Indies still managed to reduce Pakistan to 257 for seven after the hosts won the toss and chose to bat.

Medium pacer Dwayne Bravo, with two for 33, and seamer Corey Collymore, with two for 41, were the West Indies' leading bowlers.

""We're pretty happy. A couple of chances didn't go our way early on this morning but picking up seven wickets on this track, we are pretty happy," Powell said.

West Indies' Corey Collymore (right) celebrates the dismissal of Pakistan's Mohammad Hafeez on the first day of their third and final Test cricket match at National Stadium in Karachi, Pakistan, yesterday. - Photo by Dellmar