Former England spinner Monty Panesar has urged Ben Stokes and his team to revive the Sandpapergate controversy and use it as a psychological weapon against Steve Smith ahead of next week’s Ashes opener in Perth. Panesar believes England should deliberately question Smith’s integrity and fitness to lead Australia, suggesting it could unsettle the incumbent captain.
Panesar, who has repeatedly criticized Smith in the past and said the Australian “will always be known as a cheat” for his role in the 2018 ball-tampering scandal, wants England to “really go at it” with strategic sledging. The 50-Test veteran, quoted by Fox Sports, claimed that mental pressure could be an effective tactic.
“Ben Stokes and the England team need to make Steve Smith feel guilty and play on it,” Panesar said. “Say things like, ‘I don’t think it’s ethical that he’s the captain,’ or ‘I don’t think he played the game fairly.’ Make him doubt himself.”
He even suggested specific taunts, advising England to highlight any swing or movement they achieved with the ball by joking that they ‘don’t even use sandpaper’.
When Pat Cummins was dismissed in the first Test, Smith will lead Australia in Perth — a scenario Panesar believes England must take advantage of. He drew parallels with the Steve Waugh era and said Australia had long used mental pressure as a weapon and that England should adopt a similar approach.
Panesar urged the British media to add to the psychological pressure, saying it should not shy away from reminding Smith of the scandal. “If the roles were reversed, the Australian media would be covering all of this,” he argued. “This is what the British media must focus on and help England.”
However, the former spinner may be underestimating Smith’s resilience. When Smith returned from his ban during the 2019 Ashes in England, he faced relentless booing and hostility, yet produced one of the greatest batting performances in Ashes history – scoring 774 runs at an average of 110.57 to help Australia retain the urn.
Whether England will follow Panesar’s advice remains to be seen, but his comments have thrown the Sandpapergate saga back into the spotlight on the eve of another high-stakes Ashes series.
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Issued by:
Amar Panicker
Published on:
November 13, 2025
