MULTAN, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistan hopes its tried and tested spin template will be successful against the West Indies as the two bottom-placed teams in the World Test Championship gear up for the two-test series starting from Friday.
The same pitch has been prepared for the first test in Multan on which Pakistan spinners Sajid Khan and Noman Ali neutralized England’s aggressive “Bazball” in October when the groundskeepers successfully dried out the 22-yard strip with the help of giant industrial-sized fans and patio heaters.
“We emphasized during the England series that home conditions are very important in test cricket,” Pakistan captain Shan Masood said on Thursday. “We adapted a style of play, style of pitches, (and) now we will try how we can perform in our home grounds and carry forward the momentum of England series.”
Pakistan came from behind to beat England 2-1 on engineered dry wickets of Multan and Rawalpindi after losing the first test by an innings when the tourists amassed a record-breaking 823-7 declared in the first innings.
Off-spinner Sajid and left-arm spinner Noman, who grabbed 39 of the 40 wickets in the last two test matches against England, are both named in the 15-man squad after being overlooked for the away series against South Africa, which Pakistan lost 2-0.
Leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed, who missed the last home series against England because of illness, is also in the squad and it is likely Pakistan will go with three specialist spinners.
Pakistan has lost eight of its last 10 test matches under Masood’s captaincy since he was elevated as red-ball skipper in December 2023. But the skipper believed Pakistan couldn’t capitalize a number of times against Australia, Bangladesh and even against South Africa after putting opponents on the back foot.
“There are lots of test matches during last year when we lost the games after coming into a winning position,” Masood said. “There were only one or two one-sided matches … we came into good positions but couldn’t finish it. The lesson for this team is how we can convert it into victories after coming into winning positions.”
Pakistan will be without its in-form opening batter Saim Ayub, who was ruled out of competitive cricket for up to six weeks after fracturing his right ankle during the test match in South Africa. Imam-ul-Haq will replace Ayub in the top order after the left-hander was recalled since last playing against Australia.
West Indies is yet to win a series in this WTC cycle. It has lost to India, England and South Africa while drawing 1-1 both against Australia and Bangladesh.
But captain Kraigg Brathwaite was hopeful that his team could finish the WTC cycle on a high.
“This series is very important for us,” Brathwaite said. “Obviously (we have) two test matches left in this cycle and it’s a new year … it is important to finish this cycle strong and that’s our focus.”
Fast bowler Shamar Joseph was ruled of the series due to shin splits while another pacer, Alzarri Joseph preferred to play in the ILT20 league in the United Arab Emirates and skipped the test series in Pakistan.
Brathwaite said the tourists has left out their vice-captain Joshua Da Silva from the playing XI while fast bowler Kemar Roach misses out because of illness.
Multan will also host the second test, starting from Jan. 25 due to ongoing upgrades at Pakistan's two main stadiums in Karachi and Lahore for next month's Champions Trophy.
AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket
West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite, right, and his Pakistani counterpart Shan Masood pose for photo with test-series trophy, in Multan, Pakistan, Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Asim Tanveer)
Pakistan's Mohammad Rizwan plays a shot while South Africa's David Bedingham jumps attempting to field and South Africa's Kyle Verreynne looks on during the fourth day of the second test match between South Africa and Pakistan in Cape Town, South Africa, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Halden Krog)
Pakistan's Shan Masood plays a shot while South Africa's Kyle Verreynne looks on during the fourth day of the second test match between South Africa and Pakistan in Cape Town, South Africa, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Halden Krog)
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — A panel of Brazil’s Supreme Court justices began proceedings Tuesday to determine whether former President Jair Bolsonaro and close allies will stand trial on five counts, including attempting to stage a coup.
Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet charged Bolsonaro last month with plotting a coup after he lost the 2022 election to his opponent and current President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Part of that plan allegedly included poisoning Lula and killing Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, a foe of Bolsonaro.
Five Supreme Court justices — including de Moraes, the rapporteur — opened proceedings around 9:45 a.m. local time in Brasilia to rule on the charges leveled by Gonet. If a majority votes in favor, the accused will become defendants in a criminal case.
Bolsonaro and his alleged accomplices also stand accused of participating in an armed criminal organization, attempted violent abolition of the democratic rule of law, damage qualified by violence and a serious threat against the state’s assets, and deterioration of listed heritage.
The criminal organization was active between July 2021 and January 2023, de Moraes said at the beginning of proceedings Tuesday. He said the group's practices comprised of "a series of malicious acts aimed at abolishing the democratic rule of law and deposing the legitimately elected government.”
Gonet, who spoke after de Moraes and had 30 minutes to present his indictment of the accused, said that the group had sought to maintain Bolsonaro in power “at all costs."
“The criminal organization documented its project and during the investigations, manuscripts, digital files, spreadsheets and exchanges of messages were found,” Gonet said.
Bolsonaro has repeatedly denied wrongdoing and says that he's being politically persecuted.
Local television network Globonews showed Bolsonaro arriving at the Supreme Court. Speaking earlier to journalists Tuesday morning at Brasilia's airport, Bolsonaro again denied the accusations.
“I'm fine. I always hope for justice. Nothing is substantiated in the accusations, made in a biased way, by the Federal Police,” Bolsonaro said, referring to the 884-page report filed in late November.
Under Brazilian law, a coup conviction alone carries a sentence of up to 12 years, but when combined with the other charges, it could result in a sentence of decades behind bars.
Observers say that it's likely that the charges will be accepted.
“There is no shadow of a doubt that there are very clear elements” that crimes were committed, said Thiago Bottino, a law professor at the Getulio Vargas Foundation, a think tank and university. “The current tendency is that there will be a criminal trial.”
Gonet filed charges against a total of 34 people in February. On Tuesday, the Supreme Court will analyze whether to accept charges against eight of them. As well as Bolsonaro, the court will vote on the accusations faced by former Defense Ministers Walter Braga Netto and Paulo Sérgio Nogueira and ex-Justice Minister Anderson Torres, among others. The court will decide on the others' fates later on.
Bolsonaro has sought to shore up political support before the possible trial, including by holding a protest on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro on March 16.
Local media reported that around 18,000 people attended the rally, based on figures from a monitoring project linked to the University of Sao Paulo. Bolsonaro’s allies had hoped to draw a crowd of 1 million, which led some analysts to say that his ability to mobilize voters is diminishing.
Bolsonaro called on social media Sunday for a new demonstration on April 6, to be held on one of Sao Paulo’s main arteries, Avenida Paulista.
As with the protest earlier this month, the former president and his allies will push for Congress to grant amnesty to those in jail for their roles in the Jan. 8, 2023 riot, when Bolsonaro’s die-hard fans stormed and trashed the Supreme Court, Presidential Palace and Congress a week after Lula took office.
In his indictment of Bolsonaro and others linked to him, Gonet said that the rampage was a last-ditch attempt to hold onto power.
Bolsonaro, a former military officer who was known to express nostalgia for the country’s 1964-1985 dictatorship, openly defied Brazil’s judicial system during his 2019-2022 term in office.
He has already been banned by Brazil’s top electoral court from running in elections until 2030 over abuse of power while in office and casting unfounded doubts on the country’s electronic voting system.
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AP journalist Eduardo François contributed to this report.
Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
Security agents use a dog to sweep the Supreme Court building in Brasilia, Brazil, Tuesday, March 25, 2025, before the trial starts for Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
Gates line the perimeter of the Supreme Court in Brasilia, Brazil, Tuesday, March 25, 2025, the day the trial of Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro begins. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
Celso Villares, center, and Fabio Wajngarten, right, lawyers for Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro, arrive at the Supreme Court for his trial in Brasilia, Brazil, Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
A journalist, foreground, attends the trial of Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro, on the large screen behind, in an external area of the Supreme Court in Brasilia, Brazil, Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro speaks to the press as he arrives at the Brasilia International Airport in Brasilia, Brazil, Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Luis Nova)
Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro arrives at the Brasilia International Airport in Brasilia, Brazil, Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Luis Nova)
Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro speaks to the media as he arrives at the Brasilia International Airport in Brasilia, Brazil, Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Luis Nova)
FILE - Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro gestures to the crowd upon arriving at a rally in support of a proposed bill to grant amnesty to those arrested for storming government buildings in an alleged coup attempt in 2023, in Rio de Janeiro, March 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado, File)
FILE - Police stand on the other side of a window at Planalto Palace that was shattered by protesters, supporters of Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro, after they stormed the official workplace of the president in Brasilia, Brazil, Jan. 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres, File)
FILE - Lady Justice statue, depicting a seated, blindfolded woman holding a sword, stands outside the Supreme Court in Brasilia, Brazil, Sept. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres, File)
