The exchange of words between former England spinner Monty Panesar and Australia's legendary batter Steve Smith took an uglier turn. The episode began after Panesar reignited memories of the infamous sandpaper incident, which Smith was involved in, ahead of the Ashes. He insisted that the players traveling Down Under should use the instance to get into Smith's head as he leads the Kangaroos in the absence of regular captain Pat Cummins.
In response, Smith made a mockery of Panesar's appearance on ‘Celebrity Mastermind’, a BBC quiz show. The former England spinner, who played 50 Tests for the country from 2006 to 2013, made blunders one after the other, which included calling Athens the capital of Germany and labelling America a “city”.
Panesar was quick to react to the mockery as he chastised Smith with personal attacks in his latest column for The Telegraph (England). “To think that he wanted to talk about me before one of the biggest days of his career -- when he will lead Australia out against England as he stands in for absent captain Pat Cummins -- is flattering, and nothing short of hilarious.
"I cannot believe he has dug out the old YouTube clip of my shocker and memorised it word by word. I must admit I am delighted to have got so far inside his head, but if I am able to achieve that, imagine how much damage Ben Stokes and his side are going to be able to do once play starts in Perth?" he wrote.
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Panesar added that both have made some mistakes and have to live with it. “We've both made mistakes, but at least mine was on a celebrity quiz show. His was on a cricket field, and we both have to live by them. It seems right now only one of us can,” stated Panesar.
Panesar mentioned that if he gets a chance to speak to Smith, he would ask if he can look in the mirror and admit his mistake, calling it "the worst example of Australian cheating in history".
“I would actually ask Steve whether he can look himself in the mirror yet and admit that he was part of “Sandpapergate”, the worst example of Australian cheating in history. Steve has just displayed a massive weakness and mental vulnerability that, at this level of elite sport, you cannot afford to do.
“Look, we are all cricketers at the end of the day and I had some great days playing for my country, but I also had some shockers. He has had a lot of great days playing for his country but he has had one very big shocker: that day in South Africa in 2018. If I was Jofra Archer, I would be telling him “I’m swinging the ball even without sandpaper!”, or if I was Joe Root I’d be in his ear, “tell us how you do it mate, fine or coarse paper? Tell us the tricks of your trade,” he added.
