On the eve of the Ashes opener in Perth, Steve Smith turned a routine press conference into headline material—delivering a pointed and unexpected retort to former England spinner Monty Panesar, who had publicly urged England to needle the Australian over the infamous 2018 ball-tampering scandal.
Panesar, speaking to a betting outlet days earlier, had called on England’s players and media to make Smith “feel guilty” about his involvement in the “Sandpapergate” episode. Smith, clearly unamused, responded swiftly—invoking Panesar’s widely mocked 2019 appearance on the BBC quiz show Celebrity Mastermind.
“I am going to go off topic here, who in the room has seen Mastermind, and Monty Panesar on that? Any of you?” Smith asked, drawing laughter from the room.
“Those of you that have will understand where I am coming from. If you have not, do yourself a favour because it is pretty comical. Anyone that believes that Athens is in Germany, that is a start, or that Oliver Twist is a season of the year and America is a city. It does not really bother me, those comments. That is as far as I will go with that one.”
Smith’s comments instantly reignited attention on Panesar’s quiz show gaffe, where he famously fumbled several basic questions during the general knowledge round—adding fuel to the pre-series media fire.
Panesar’s comments: “Make him feel guilty”
Panesar, who played 50 Tests for England between 2006 and 2013, had earlier urged England to exploit Smith’s past involvement in the 2018 ball-tampering scandal, known widely as Sandpapergate, in which Smith was suspended for a year.
“Ben Stokes and the England team have got to make Steve Smith feel guilty and play on that,” Panesar said. “Say something like, ‘I don’t think it’s ethical that he’s the captain, I don’t think he played the game fairly’.
“Really get into him and make him feel guilty about it. Make him feel like, ‘they’re probably right, I shouldn’t be here, I shouldn’t be doing this’.
“I hope that England uses it as an advantage and don’t just get quiet about it because we know he bats well when he’s captaining Australia.
“If it were the opposite, the Australian media would be all over it. They would have said, if it was any of the English players, ‘the cheaters have arrived’. Right?”
Panesar’s remarks seemed largely unnoticed—until Smith spotlighted them unprompted in what many saw as a premeditated attempt to neutralize the issue ahead of the high-stakes Test.
A calculated response before a massive series
The press conference exchange—one of the few memorable moments in an otherwise routine 17-minute session—came just days before the highly anticipated Ashes series begins. Smith, standing in for injured skipper Pat Cummins, appeared relaxed despite the added scrutiny.
“I’m pretty chilled. I think I’ve learned a lot over my journey. And yeah, the couple of times that I’ve stood in for Paddy, I’ve tried to be pretty relaxed and let the game play. And, obviously, I’ve got to do it my own way out there and have my own style. But I’m a lot more relaxed these days, chilled and let the guys go about their work.”
Smith, who has captained Australia previously and has played in three Ashes series since returning from his ban, seemed intent on heading off any psychological warfare early.
Context: Sandpapergate still lingers
Smith’s return to leadership, even on a temporary basis, remains a sensitive topic in Australia. The ball-tampering saga in Cape Town seven years ago saw Smith banned for a year, vice-captain David Warner given the same punishment, and Cameron Bancroft suspended for nine months. While Smith has rebuilt his image and form since then, moments like Panesar’s remarks show the scandal still casts a shadow.
The Ashes begin under a cloud of banter and baggage
The 2025 Ashes had largely avoided verbal fireworks until Smith’s pointed jab. Both squads had maintained a civil tone publicly, despite the series being billed as one of the most competitive in recent memory.
But with Smith’s press room moment now going viral, the tone has shifted. The sledging, it seems, has started—not on the field, but behind the microphone.
As the teams prepare for battle in Perth, it’s clear that Sandpapergate still looms—and Steve Smith, at least this time, got his retaliation in first.
