Steve Smith fires cheeky 'mastermind' dig at Panesar

Australia’s stand-in skipper Steve Smith has taken a sharp dig at former England spinner Monty Panesar over his recent remarks relating to the Sandpapergate scandal.

Smith will be leading his side in the first Ashes Test after regular captain Pat Cummins was ruled out due to an injury.

The first Ashes Test between England and Australia will start tomorrow at the Optus Stadium in Perth.

Panesar, earlier this month, had advised the England team and the UK media to target Smity by revisiting the ‘Sandpaper Gate’ scandal — when Australia were caught tampering with the ball using some sandpaper under Steve Smith’s leadership.

“If it were the opposite, the Australian media would be all over it,” Panesar said. “They would have said, if it was any of the English players, ‘the cheaters have arrived.’ Right?”

Smith has now responded, recalling Panesar’s viral appearance on a quiz show ‘Celebrity Mastermind, during which the ex-spinner famously fumbled simple general-knowledge questions.

“Who in the room has seen Mastermind, and Monty Panesar on that? Any of you?” Smith asked reporters in a pre-Ashes presser.

“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 that believes that Athens is in Germany, that’s a start, or that Oliver Twist is a season of the year and America is a city,” he said in a light-hearted manner.

Smith stressed that Panesar’s remarks did not affect him, stating that he is feeling far more relaxed these days.

“It doesn’t really bother me, those comments. That’s as far as I’ll go with that one,” he said, subsequently adding that he was “pretty chilled” on his return to the captaincy. “I’m a lot more relaxed these days,” Smith concluded.