A verbal sparring match between Australia captain Steve Smith and veteran England spinner Monty Panesar has garnered significant media attention on the eve of the Ashes 2025–26 series. Smith’s dramatic response, which brought back memories of Sandpapergate, swiftly amplified what had started as Panesar’s casual remark.
Speaking before the series, Monty Panesar encouraged England’s players to mentally target Smith by bringing up his background, particularly the notorious ball-tampering case from 2018. He recommended that Ben Stokes’ team “make Steve Smith feel guilty” and raise concerns about the morality of his captaincy.
But Smith seemed to have set up his response with a question during the press conference. Given that Pat Cummins was unable to play in the Perth Test, the Australian skipper took advantage of the situation to make fun of Panesar by bringing up his well-known appearance on the quiz show Mastermind. Smith made light of Panesar’s inaccurate responses, which ranged from referring to Athens as a region of Germany to characterising Oliver Twist as a season.
Monty Panesar, however, did not mince words in his response.
“Both of us have erred. He made his on a cricket pitch, and I made mine on a quiz show. This one is intriguing. I’m positive he’s still thinking about it. I think it’s hilarious that he has committed the questions and answers to memory. Saying something hilarious or humorous about what I did on the show is the best way to break from it and will make everything go more smoothly.
I would be thinking, ‘ Monty Panesar just given us a piece of ammunition that we can use against Steve Smith,’ if I were in the England squad at the moment. I’m attempting to assist the England team; this is your chance; there are no Josh Hazlewood or Pat Cummins here in Perth. “Tell him if you have the guts and you think it’s a good idea,” he stated on BBC 5 Live.
Smith also took over as captain on England’s most recent tour of Australia in 2021–2022, following Cummins’ isolation for the Adelaide Test due to the COVID-19 epidemic. The host team’s starting lineup for the Perth Test has also been disclosed.
Australia’s Perth Test starting lineup:
Steve Smith (c), Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Jake Weatherald, Marnus Labuschagne, Alex Carey (wk), Cameron Green, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Brendan Doggett, Scott Boland
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