Australia captain Steve Smith has taken a hilarious yet brutal reply towards the former England spinner, Monty Panesar, ahead of the Ashes 2025/26 curtain raiser at the Optus Stadium in Perth. Panesar made the headlines in the buildup to the series by reckoning that England should ban Smith over the sandpaper scandal. 

Smith, after announcing the Australia playing eleven, didn’t miss the chance to return the favor. Shortly after announcing the squad, he clearly came prepared by referring to Panesar’s embarrassing 2019 appearance on the UK quiz show Mastermind.

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“I’m gonna go off topic for a second here. Who in the room has seen Mastermind and Monty Panesar on that? Any of you? Yeah. Well, those of you who have, you’ll understand where I’m coming from, and those of you who haven’t, do yourself a favour because it’s pretty comical.” Smith expressed to the reports as the video goes viral.

Watch: Steve Smith hits back at Monty Panesar over Sandpaper comments

Smith, who confirmed that the home side would go with two debutants- Jake Weatherald and Brendon Doggett in the playing eleven for the opening Perth Test, looked back at the interaction of Panesar, who called America a city during the previous quiz show- Mastermind.

Monty Panesar said England should reignite Sandpaper-gate during the Ashes...

Steve Smith came prepared. 😂 pic.twitter.com/Kspp5nuBXv

— Herald Sun Sport (@heraldsunsport) November 20, 2025

“Anyone who believes that Athens is in Germany, that’s a start, Oliver Twist is a season of the year, and America is a city, doesn’t really bother me those comments. Yeah, that’s as far as I’ll go with that one.” Smith said as Australia, who have won their last 13 of the 15 home Tests against the Ben Stokes-led side, aim to continue their legacy at home in the longest format.

“Ben Stokes and the England team have got to make Steve Smith feel guilty and play on that. 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.” Panesar commented on the buildup of the Ashes 2025/26.