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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Sport
Simon Burnton in Perth

‘I made mistakes on TV, he made his on a field’: Panesar strikes back at Smith’s Mastermind jibe

Steve Smith Monty Panesar Australia Ashes Marnus Labuschagne England Ben Stokes Brendan Doggett Cameron Green Jake Weatherald
Steve Smith and Monty Panesar.
Steve Smith (left) brought up Monty Panesar’s infamous performance on the BBC’s Mastermind quiz show. Composite: AAP, BBC

Steve Smith, Australia’s acting captain, has confirmed his team for Friday’s opening Ashes Test – but his team announcement was overshadowed by an extraordinary verbal attack on Monty Panesar after the former England spinner suggested Ben Stokes and his touring team should try to upset him by rehashing the infamous sandpaper ball-tampering controversy of 2018.

Smith insisted the comments “didn’t really bother me”, but apparently demonstrated the opposite by raking over Panesar’s notoriously miserable appearance on the TV quiz Mastermind in 2019.

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