Monty Panesar hits back at Steve Smith: England cult hero takes ANOTHER swipe at Sandpapergate after Australian captain mocked rival’s pitiful effort on Mastermind
Former England spinner Monty Panesar has hit back at Australia captain Steve Smith’s attack on his appearance on Celebrity Mastermind, amid a war of words on the eve of the first Ashes Test.
Panesar, who played the last of his 50 Tests during the 2013-14 tour of Australia, had suggested that England should make Smith ‘feel guilty’ about his role in the sandpaper scandal that cost him the captaincy in 2018.
Smith was asked about Panesar’s comments ahead of the first Test in Perth, with the stand-in captain responding by mocking his appearance on the BBC’s Mastermind in 2019.
Panesar had registered a point in the general knowledge round amid a collection of increasingly odd answers.
‘I’m going go off topic for a second here,’ said Smith. ‘Who in the room has seen Mastermind and Monty Panesar on that? Any of you?
‘Yeah. Well those of you that have, you’ll understand where I’m coming from, and those of you haven’t, do yourself a favour, because it’s pretty comical.
Monty Panesar has hit back at Steve Smith, pictured, after the Australia captain mocked his appearance on Mastermind
Monty Panesar only got one point in the general knowledge round on Mastermind
‘Anyone who believes that Athens is in Germany, that’s a start, or Oliver Twist is a season of the year and America is a city, doesn’t really bother me those comments. Yeah, that’s as far as I’ll go with that one.’
Panesar doubled down on his criticism of Smith over the sandpaper scandal when asked about his response.
‘We’ve both made mistakes. I made mine on a quiz show, he made his on a cricket field,’ Panesar told BBC Radio 5Live.
‘The night before the Test match he’s watching my Mastermind clips, memorising the questions and the answers and it kind of feels like England are already in his head and I can rattle the Aussies from sitting on my sofa.’
Smith was banned from international and domestic cricket for 12 months back in 2018, with then vice captain David Warner receiving the same sanction from Cricket Australia.
Cameron Bancroft, who used sandpaper to damage the ball during the third Test against South Africa, was given a nine-month ban.
Smith had admitted Australia’s ‘leadership group’ had devised a plan to tamper with the ball, which he admitted was a ‘big mistake’.
