Former England cricketer Monty Panesar has launched a sharp counter-attack against Australian captain Steve Smith, after the batsman ridiculed Panesar's past appearance on Celebrity Mastermind. This fiery exchange has ignited a war of words just as the first Ashes Test is set to begin.
The Spark: Smith's Mastermind Mockery
The controversy started when Panesar, who played his last of 50 Tests during the 2013-14 tour of Australia, suggested England should make Smith 'feel guilty' about his central role in the 2018 sandpaper scandal. When questioned about these comments in Perth ahead of the first Test, Smith opted for a personal dig instead of a direct rebuttal.
'I'm going to go off topic for a second here,' Smith told reporters. He then encouraged the room to look up Panesar's 2019 appearance on the BBC quiz show, describing it as 'pretty comical'. Smith specifically referenced Panesar's incorrect answers, where the spinner allegedly claimed 'Athens is in Germany', 'Oliver Twist is a season of the year', and 'America is a city'. Panesar had managed to score just a single point in the general knowledge round.
Panesar's Powerful Counter-Attack
Unfazed by the mockery, Monty Panesar doubled down on his original criticism when speaking to BBC Radio 5Live. He drew a stark distinction between their respective mistakes.
'We've both made mistakes. I made mine on a quiz show, he made his on a cricket field,' Panesar stated. He then turned the tables psychologically, suggesting that 'the night before the Test match he's watching my Mastermind clips', which proves 'England are already in his head'.
Panesar boldly claimed he could 'rattle the Aussies from sitting on my sofa' and urged the England team to 'really go hard at him' with mind games, potentially leading to Smith getting out early. He concluded with a final, pointed remark: 'I know I'm guilty of bad general knowledge, not ball tampering.'
The Lingering Shadow of the Sandpaper Scandal
This war of words underscores how the sandpaper scandal remains a raw nerve for Steve Smith. In 2018, during a Test against South Africa, Cameron Bancroft was caught using sandpaper to alter the ball's condition. Smith admitted that the team's 'leadership group' had devised the plan, calling it a 'big mistake'.
The fallout was severe:
- Steve Smith received a 12-month ban from international and domestic cricket from Cricket Australia.
- Then vice-captain David Warner was given the same 12-month sanction.
- Cameron Bancroft was suspended for nine months.
Panesar noted that Smith's reaction shows it is 'obviously still a sensitive subject for him', interpreting the Mastermind jibe as an attempt to deviate from the core issue of the ball-tampering incident that cost him the captaincy.
