Ashes 2025/26: Steve Smith Fires Back At Monty Panesar’s Sandpaper-Gate Jibe

Steve Smith lashed out at Monty Panesar ahead of the first Ashes Test, after the former England spinner called on the tourists to target Australia's stand-in skipper.

Ahead of the first Test in Perth, which begins on Friday, Panesar said travelling fans and media should attack Smith over his role in the Sandpapergate scandal.

Smith was replaced as Australia captain after admitting to ball-tampering during a Test match against South Africa in 2018, with the incident often used by England fans to taunt the batsman.

In the build-up to this year's series, Panesar said Smith – who is standing in as captain for the first Test due to Pat Cummins suffering a back injury – should be made to feel "guilty" about that episode.

When asked about those comments by reporters, Smith referenced Panesar's unsuccessful 2019 appearance on quiz show Mastermind in an extraordinary attack.

"I'm going to go off-topic here," said Smith. "Who of you in the room has seen Mastermind, and Monty Panesar on that? Any of you?

"Those of you that have will understand where I'm coming from. If you haven't, do yourself a favour because it is pretty comical.

"Anyone who believes that Athens is in Germany, 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."

Smith, currently on 10,477 Test runs, is 451 away from eclipsing Steve Waugh (10,927) as his country's all-time leading scorer in red-ball cricket.

He has scored 611 runs at an average of 87.3 across his last nine first-class innings in Western Australia, including two double-centuries, one of which was against England in December 2017 (239 runs).