Former England left-arm spinner Monty Panesar has found himself at the center of a storm. This comes after comments by Australian stand-in captain Steve Smith to take the media odre. Prior to the first Test match of the Ashes series, Smith was all over the news. While filling in for the injured captain Pat Cummins, he went on to criticize Panesar.
Panesar, who took 167 wickets in 50 Test matches for England between 2006 and 2013, is no stranger to the limelight. He was most recently the subject of a profile on BBC Television’s Celebrity Mastermind. There, he proved his understanding of Sikhism by answering all six questions about the faith correctly. It was his showing in the quickfire general knowledge round that got people talking. He could only answer one question correctly. He was hardly perfect, though, making some truly egregious miscalculations. He once falsely advertised that Athens was in Germany, that Oliver Twist is a quarter, and that America is a town.
Panesar recently proved his mettle on the small screen. He has staked out a second historic first, too — announcing his plans to stand as an MP in the 2024 general election for the Workers Party of Britain. Despite this historic action, he reversed course only a week later.
In Smith’s media conference, he referred to these comments made previously by Panesar in relation to the ‘Sandpapergate’ scandal of 2018. Panesar had earlier argued that England needed to make Smith “ashamed” of his participation in the occurrence. McCullum’s biting comment, coupled with his counterpart Smith’s allusion to Panesar, illustrated the deep-seated animosity still between players as one of sport’s biggest rivalries quickly approached.
Though their media address lasted only 17 minutes, it attracted intense national coverage because of Smith’s rather extraordinary decision to go for Panesar’s throat.
“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.” – Steve Smith
This series both teams are full of confidence heading into the first Test. The stuff said will unquestionably change the culture on and off the floor and the field. The Ashes series has built a reputation as the most fiercely competitive cricketing encounters, and exchanges like these before the match surely only stoke the fire in the belly.
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