England cricket icon Monty Panesar has fired back at Aussie captain Steve Smith as their bizarre war of words continues – and Monty reckons he’s got a plan to get at the ‘rattled’ batsman
Cricket legend Monty Panesar has urged the Barmy Army come up with a cracking new song to silence gobby Aussie captain Steve Smith – as all-out Ashes war ramped up between the rivals.
It started when Smith publicly took a swipe over the former spinner’s 2019 Celebrity Mastermind disaster when he only answered one general knowledge question correctly.
That was revenge for Monty suggesting Ben Stokes should stick the knife in over Australia’s infamous sandpaper ball-tampering scandal of 2018.
Issuing his rallying cry, the fired-up bowler said: “I hope the Barmy Army are creating a song, because it better be ready.
“It could be the difference between England winning the Ashes.”
Asked if we specifically need a gritty ditty to get under Smith’s skin, he replied: “Well why not?”
He said we need to “get our foot on their throat “ and insisted every little jibe will edge England closer to bringing home the urn, adding: “It’s going to get heated.
“We needed something to just fire it all up and somehow a number 11 batsman, sitting on his sofa, has rattled the Aussies.
“And there we go, it starts now, the game begins.
“They’re an ageing team. This is a last hurrah for a few of these.
“Calling them Dad’s Army, dinosaurs, any of these things, it starts to get to them.
“The Barmy Army have got a huge contribution to play in all these different songs that they come out with.”
Monty, 43, also vowed to have the last laugh over his Mastermind meltdown, demanding another stint on the show – and said he “can’t wait” to join the Daily Star’s quiz team next week.
Speaking ahead of the launch of BallsApp, he said: “I think I’m due another go now on Mastermind, aren’t I? Round two.
“My Mastermind was an absolute shocker.
“But if I’m guilty of anything, it’s bad general knowledge. Not ball tampering.
“I’ll trade that any day of the week. Smith’s trying to deflect it. We all know he cheated, he ball tampered, that’s the fact.
“The funny thing is, if he’s watching my old clips of my Mastermind the day before the Perth Test match, it kind of shows that the England bowlers, the England team are in his head.
“And I can do it from just sitting on my sofa.
“My big shocker was on a quiz show, his was on a cricket field.”
Monty reckons the floodgates are now open for trading blows and urged our players to get stuck in.
He said: “I’m sure Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum will be thinking ‘Wow, we never thought he would respond to Monty’s comments. Is it still a sensitive subject for Steve Smith? Shall we test him?’
“If Jofra Archer swings one past him, he may just say ‘I’m not using sandpaper here, brother.’”
Asked if Stokes is bothered over the Australian press sledging, Monty said: “No, he’s a tougher character than that.
“He’s laughing it off at the moment. I don’t think that kind of stuff has rattled him. If anything, this has kind of ignited England.”
Monty Panesar was speaking ahead of the launch of BallsApp. A mobile platform that reimagines how we enjoy ball sports, starting with cricket. Built on ball-tracking tech and Web3 incentives, the app turns any open space into a smart cricket training zone and delivers real-time performance feedback, skill-based challenges, and tokenized rewards. Pre-register now at BallsApp.io