A verbal clash has erupted between retired England bowler Monty Panesar and Australian skipper Steve Smith on the eve of the opening Ashes Test in Perth.
The confrontation began when Panesar proposed that England's players should remind Smith of his involvement in the 2018 ball-tampering controversy to unsettle him psychologically.
Smith's response was swift and cutting.
Rather than addressing the sandpaper allegations directly, he chose to ridicule Panesar's calamitous performance on the BBC's Celebrity Mastermind programme from 2019, where the former spinner managed just a single correct answer during the general knowledge segment.
Australia’s stand-in captain Steve Smith responded sharply in Perth to comments made by former England spinner Monty Panesar, as the countdown to the first Ashes Test took an unexpected turn | XThe Australian captain demonstrated remarkable recall of Panesar's quiz show blunders during his pre-match press conference.
"Anyone who believes that Athens is in Germany, that's a start, or Oliver Twist is a season of the year and America is a city, doesn't really bother me those comments," Smith stated dismissively.
He encouraged journalists to watch the programme for themselves, describing it as "pretty comical".
The stand-in skipper's decision to reference specific wrong answers from a six-year-old television appearance suggests he had either watched the episode recently or retained an unusually detailed memory of Panesar's performance.
The former England international refused to be cowed by Smith's mockery when speaking to BBC Radio 5Live.
Monty Panesar struggled during his appearance on BBC Mastermind | BBC"We've both made mistakes. I made mine on a quiz show, he made his on a cricket field," Panesar retorted pointedly.
He suggested Smith's detailed knowledge of the quiz programme revealed psychological vulnerability.
"The night before the Test match he's watching my Mastermind clips, memorising the questions and the answers and it kind of feels like England are already in his head and I can rattle the Aussies from sitting on my sofa," Panesar claimed.
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The ex-spinner maintained that Smith's response demonstrated the ball-tampering affair remained a raw nerve.
"It's obviously still a sensitive subject for him," he concluded.
The sandpaper controversy that Smith referenced occurred during Australia's tour of South Africa in March 2018.
'I can rattle the Aussies from sitting on my sofa' 🪇
— BBC 5 Live Sport (@5liveSport) November 20, 2025
Monty Panesar on his war of words with Steve Smith 🍿#BBCCricket #Ashes2025 pic.twitter.com/n4KqhKFJoP
Cricket Australia imposed year-long suspensions on both Smith and his deputy David Warner following revelations of deliberate ball tampering during the Cape Town Test.
Cameron Bancroft, who physically applied sandpaper to the match ball, received a nine-month ban.
Smith acknowledged at the time that the Australian "leadership group" had orchestrated the scheme, describing their actions as a "big mistake".
The scandal forced Smith to relinquish the captaincy and remains one of Australian cricket's most infamous episodes.