‘Anyone who believes Athens is in Germany and that America is a city…’: Steve Smith publicly embarrasses Monty Panesar
Steve Smith brutally took down Monty Panesar after the former England spinner's call to revive the Sandpaper gate incident.
It won't be Ashes without some banter, tension and some typical England-Australia jibes ahead of the start of the much-awaited five-match series between two of the oldest rivals. In other words, Ashes won't be Ashes 'ing if it isn't for some roughing up of the feathers. Because that's exactly what's happening between the Aussie stand-in captain Steve Smith and former England spinner Monty Panesar. Panesar landed the opening blow, urging the English media and the travelling fans to bombard Smith with the infamous Sandpaper-gate reminders, attempting to throw him off his game. He also wants them to make Smith feel ‘guilty’ about stepping in as captain for the injured Pat Cummins.
But what Panesar didn’t anticipate was the brutal counterpunch from Smith. The Australian batter took a page out of Panesar’s own playbook, arguing that if the past is to be dug up, so be it. In front of a packed media contingent ahead of the Perth Test, Smith publicly embarrassed the former England spinner by revisiting an infamous moment from his life — Monty’s appearance on the quiz show The Mastermind, where he fumbled big time with his answers.
"I am going to go off topic here, who in the room has seen Mastermind, and Monty Panesar on that? Any of you?" Smith asked. "Those of you that have will understand where I am coming from. If you have not, do yourself a favour because it is pretty comical. Anyone that believes that Athens is in Germany, that is a start, or that Oliver Twist is a season of the year and America is a city.
"It does not really bother me, those comments. That is as far as I will go with that one."
Smith isn’t the only one irritated with Panesar. Former Australia wicketkeeper Brad Haddin also criticised him for dragging up a topic that, as Smith would agree, remains the darkest chapter of his career. Smith was banned from cricket for 12 months and stripped of the captaincy during that period.
However, with plenty of water having passed under the bridge, Smith has stepped in as stand-in captain whenever required, and this occasion is no different. With Cummins sidelined by a back injury, Smith will lead Australia tomorrow as they defend the urn. "I'm pretty chilled. I think I have learned a lot over my journey. And yeah, the couple of times that I've stood in for Paddy, I've tried to be pretty relaxed and let the game play,” he said.
"And, obviously, I've got to do it my own way out there and have my own style. But I'm a lot more relaxed these days, chilled and let the guys go about their work."
