Former England spinner Monty Panesar has hit out at Steve Smith after his snide remarks at the pre-match press conference ahead of the first Ashes Test in Perth. Panesar urged England players, traveling fans and the British media to continue focusing on Smith over the 2018 ball-tampering scandal, and said the stand-in Australian captain should feel “guilty” about replacing Pat Cummins in the first Test.
However, when asked about the former spinner at the press conference, the Aussie star remembered him an embarrassing appearance on the British quiz show Mastermindwhere most of his answers were wrong. Following Smith’s remarks, Panesar attacked the Australian vice-captain, saying he made his mistakes on the quiz show while Smith made his mark on the cricket field in front of everyone.
“We both made mistakes. I made mine in the quiz. He (Steve Smith) on the cricket field,” Panesar said on BBC 5 Live.
The Sandpaper Gate scandal erupted during the 2018 Cape Town Test between Australia and South Africa when Australian batsman Cameron Bancroft was caught on camera using sandpaper to manipulate the ball. Captain Steve Smith and vice-captain David Warner were found to have orchestrated the plan.
The incident sparked worldwide outrage, resulting in Smith and Warner being handed 12-month bans from Cricket Australia, while Bancroft was suspended for nine months. Coach Darren Lehmann resigned shortly afterwards. The scandal tarnished Australian cricket’s reputation, prompted a cultural overhaul of the team and remains one of the sport’s most controversial episodes.
Following his ban, Smith marked his return in Test cricket during the 2019 Ashes in England. The star batsman faced relentless booing and hostility throughout the series, 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.
It will be seen how Smith responds with his bat in the upcoming series as England hope to end their 15-year winning drought in Australia.
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Issued by:
Rishabh Beniwal
Published on:
November 20, 2025
