Steve Smith Takes Brutal Dig At Ex-England Star Over 'Sandpaper' Row Ahead Of Ashes 2025
Australian cricket team stand-in skipper Steve Smith took a brutal dig at Monty Panesar after the former England spinner reignited the 'sandpaper' row ahead of Ashes 2025.
- Steve Smith took a brutal dig at Monty Panesar over the ex-England star's 'sandpaper' remark
- Panesar asked England players and media to target Smith over the ball-tampering controversy
- "Doesn't really bother me, those comments. That's as far as I'll go with that one,” Smith said
Australian cricket team stand-in skipper Steve Smith took a brutal dig at Monty Panesar after the former England spinner reignited the 'sandpaper' row ahead of Ashes 2025. Panesar asked England players and the British media to target Smith for his role in the ball tampering controversy in 2018. When asked about the comments in the pre-match press conference ahead of the 1st Test against England in Perth, Smith seemed ready. He completely dismissed Panesar's remarks and even took a jibe at him with references to his 2019 appearance on a celebrity edition of BBC's Mastermind.
“I'm gonna go off topic for a second here,” Smith said
“Who have you in the room have seen Mastermind and Monty Panesar on that? Any of you? Yeah, well, those of you that have, you'll understand where I'm coming from, and those of you haven't, do yourself a favour because it's pretty comical."
“Anyone that believes that Athens is in Germany, that's a start; Oliver Twist is a season of the year and America is a city, [it] doesn't really bother me, those comments."
“That's as far as I'll go with that one,” he added.
Smith was suspended from international cricket for 12 months by Cricket Australia and stripped of captaincy as part of a leadership ban following the 'sandpaper' scandal in South Africa. David Warner and Cameron Bancroft were accused of ball-tampering and Smith was the captain in the match.
Earlier, Panesar backed his countrymen to reclaim the Ashes Down Under for the first time in 15 years, saying that Ben Stokes and Co. will win the series if they clinch the first Test in Perth.
Panesar, who took part in England's away Ashes campaigns in 2006–07 and 2013–14, believes the current squad is better equipped to perform much better than those earlier touring sides that were whitewashed 5–0 in Australia.
Although Australia haven't lost a home Test to England since 2011, Panesar believes the visitors have an edge this time given the hosts' mounting injury concerns.
"You look at Australia and there's no Pat Cummins and no Josh Hazlewood. They've got an opener, which is a David Warner replacement, but we don't know how he's going to go about it.
“Usman Khawaja in the last couple of years, his record has not been great, let's be honest. So, I just think England are on edge here, if England win the first Test match (they can win the series)," Panesar said on SENWA Breakfast.
Steve Smith
England Cricket Team
Australia Cricket Team