• Home
  • Who Said What
  • Mentally Vulnerable Monty Panesar Lashes Out At Steve Smith As Feud Escalates

"Mentally vulnerable": Monty Panesar lashes out at Steve Smith as feud escalates

Harsh Adwani

Monty Panesar lashes at Steve Smith [Source: @LocalSachinFan/x.com]Monty Panesar lashes at Steve Smith [Source: @LocalSachinFan/x.com]

The Ashes 2025 series is underway, and while the on-field entertainment is off to a flying start, the off-field drama has also gained a fair share of attention. Former England cricketer Monty Panesar and Australian vice-captain Steve Smith have been in a war of words over the infamous sandpaper gate from 2018.

Earlier, Smith had mocked Panesar by recalling his appearance on a quiz show, calling it “pretty comical” in response to a journalist recalling former English cricketers' comments on the infamous sandpaper gate from 2018.

And now, Panesar has hit back at the Australian star, calling him a part of the “worst example of Australian cheating history”. He added that he was shocked at the fact that this was the topic of discussion on the eve of the first Test of the series.

“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. 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,” Panesar wrote in his column for the Telegraph.


“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 added.

Smith displayed massive weakness, believes Panesar

The 43-year-old went on to add that the fact that Smith did not own up to his mistake from his past in the press conference shows “massive weakness and mental vulnerability.” He admitted that he has made mistakes as a player, but according to him, Smith’s is the ultimate mistake.

“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,” he continued.

The first Test of the Ashes, meanwhile, is underway in Perth, with Australia taking an early lead in the match. Mitchell Starc managed to get some early wickets on Day 1, including that of Joe Root.