- 2 months ago
Former England spinner Monty Panesar has taken another swipe at Australian batter Steve Smith, saying that Smith helped make him famous through their banter ahead of the Ashes 2025–26. Panesar had earlier suggested that the English media and fans should target Smith and remind him of his involvement in the Cape Town ball-tampering scandal. However, Smith responded by digging out an embarrassing video of Panesar’s appearance on a quiz show.
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00:00Hello and welcome to India today. I have with me former England spinner Monty Panessa with me.
00:05Monty, a lot has been happening in English cricket. The ashes are on.
00:09England haven't really got off to a great start as they would have liked.
00:13The trading by O2 and if Ben Stokes and Brendan McCullum's words are anything to go by,
00:18they back themselves to make a counter punch at Australia come the third test in Adelaide.
00:23What do you think? What's gone wrong with Australia so far?
00:26I think what's gone wrong is probably the fact they've played on the up on fast bouncy pitches
00:34which makes it much more difficult to play like that.
00:38In England you can do it because the ball doesn't bounce as much but going from low to high bounce is a lot more harder
00:43and also they could have maybe given themselves a little bit more of a chance as batsmen as well.
00:50They come in, they go in fifth, sixth gear. It feels like more of a T20 game than a test match
00:56and I think because of that it makes it a lot easier for the Australian bowlers
01:00because then they can bowl fifth, sixth stump line, just keep bowling those channels
01:03and eventually they get hit for a couple of falls and then they nick one and it goes to slip.
01:08So they've had some very bad collapses in the first innings at Brisbane.
01:12It was five for twelve.
01:13Then they had the second inning.
01:15Sorry, at Perth it was five for twelve the first innings.
01:17And then at Brisbane, second innings, you know, they were one for 80 or something like that
01:26and then, you know, six for 134.
01:28So what ends up happening is that when they lose wickets they have very bad collapses
01:33and even, you know, the first innings at Brisbane they batted, you know, nearly 76 overs
01:40which was, you know, good, you know, it was good, you know, you kind of might think
01:43that's how they need to do it but then when you bowl against Australia you cannot drop catches
01:50and they've dropped catches while Australia have taken brilliant catches
01:54so mentally the catches kind of give you the indication where Australia are at
01:59and where England are at.
02:00I think mentally, you know, Australia just a bit stronger than England
02:04so England got to raise the game.
02:05You know, they got to raise the game.
02:06I think mentally, physically, technically Australia are far better
02:10but England have rested.
02:12They've got four days of rest and they go into Adelaide where the pitch isn't as bouncy
02:16so it will probably suit their style of batting.
02:19The pitch is quite flat as well and so we're hoping for a better contest.
02:24Lovely.
02:25So also, I mean, there have been questions regarding England's team combination as well.
02:29I mean, as they opted for Will Jacks in Brisbane.
02:31I mean, a front line spinner in Shoaib Bashir warmed the bench
02:33and they have again retained Jacks for the third test while Tung has been brought in.
02:39You think Adelaide was the right place to bring Bashir back into the team?
02:42I mean, even Michael Vaughan pointed it out that given the history of Adelaide,
02:46like, Bashir was the better option for that wicket.
02:48What's your take on this?
02:49Well, that was the investment.
02:52I said over the last couple of years they've invested in Shoaib Bashir
02:54for this moment in Australia where they was expecting him to be that X-factor spinner
03:00where he gets the ball to bounce a bit more than maybe Nathan Lyon.
03:04He'll trouble the Australian batsman with the bounce.
03:06But unfortunately, during the warm-up games, he hasn't really shown the promise
03:10that Ben Stokes and the rest of the team wanted from him.
03:13So in England, maybe he is quite effective because of slightly smaller grounds,
03:18you know, the pitch doesn't bounce a little bit
03:19and maybe those types of conditions suit his type of bowling
03:23and also the ball itself, you know, the seam's a little bit more pronounced
03:26so you get a bit more sharp, sharper movement
03:28and you don't have to work so hard on your shape of your ball and your stock delivery.
03:32While with the Kookaburra ball, you know, you look at Nathan Lyon,
03:35he gets so much revs on, he's got a fantastic stock ball
03:37and even when I came out here, you know, it was my stock delivery that kept me in the game.
03:42I was able to, you know, control from one end, you know, keep that pep,
03:47penetrate that pressure from one end, which allowed the captain to focus on the other
03:53and knowing that there's control from one end
03:54and that's the area where Shoei Bashe probably needs to develop a bit more
03:58and in the warm-up games, he's gone for like two 460-odd, you know, combined warm-up games
04:03and when you're averaging over 100 for a wicket,
04:06I think even if I was averaging 100 for a wicket, I would probably pack my bags and go back home.
04:11I would be like, you know, you're not really, you know, pushing your claim.
04:16Ben Stokes is not really going to be thinking, well, you know,
04:18Shoei Bashe is really knocking on my door because averaging over 100 with the ball,
04:22I just don't think you justify it and I think that's one of the reasons, you know.
04:26He hasn't really done well in the warm-up matches,
04:29so therefore I think he's been, he's probably been out of the equation now,
04:33I think for the rest of the test matches.
04:34So unfortunately, it's, yeah, it's sad to see because he, I will have so much promise,
04:41there's so much promise, but depends how this test match goes.
04:45If England win, then obviously I think, you know,
04:48Will Jackson will probably play at Melbourne as well,
04:50but, you know, they may experiment if they, you know, if they lose the assist at Adelaide,
04:56but, you know, everyone's hoping England will perform slightly better than they,
05:00you know, have been doing the last two test matches.
05:02But yeah, that is a, you know, they've invested so much in him
05:05and, you know, he needs to be better than that.
05:08You know, you can't be going for over 100, you know, averaging 100 in Australia.
05:13That's just not good enough.
05:14Right. I mean, it's not just a spin bowling.
05:16I mean, that has been the talk of the town.
05:18I mean, the fast bowling also hasn't been up to the mark.
05:21I mean, there was a lot of talks of that Jopra Archer and his battle with Steve Smith.
05:24I mean, who's obviously your favourite man in the Australian squad.
05:27Experts argue that it was just a too little too late for that type of fiery spell to come to the fore in Brisbane.
05:34So with Australia chasing just a modest target of 65 runs,
05:37I mean, what's your take on that?
05:38I mean, the entire Archer and Smith battle during Brisbane.
05:42Was it too little too late from England?
05:44Well, I suppose, you know, Jopra tried to show, you know, he's probably well rested
05:49and the temperature was slightly cooler.
05:52It favoured him to run in, you know, bowl a bit quicker.
05:56You probably do argue the case.
05:58You kind of think that, well, that's probably, that's the kind of spell he has in him.
06:01So he does that, he does have maybe one spell in him where he can do that.
06:06And if he can, unless they win the toss at Adelaide,
06:08maybe that's what, you know, Jopra needs to do.
06:10You know, I think he needs to, you know, answer his critics and say, right.
06:14Like, you know, it's difficult, you know, hot day.
06:17He probably can't bowl 50 numbers like that.
06:19But maybe he's got a couple of spells, at least one spell he can bowl like that.
06:23And I think that's probably what they will expect from him.
06:25He's, you know, he's more of a whiteboard cricketer.
06:27He's not, he's not really a test match, you know, bowler since, you know,
06:30the injury of his elbow.
06:31So to sustain, you know, for him to be a test match bowler,
06:34he needs to sustain that throughout the day.
06:36And you look at Mitchell Stark, he bowls quick.
06:39And look how fit he is.
06:40He doesn't get injured, unfortunately, with Mark Wood.
06:43He got injured as well.
06:44So it just kind of shows how difficult it is for bowlers to maintain high level of fitness.
06:49And, you know, that's the difficulty.
06:52So when you look at it from that perspective, you're absolutely right.
06:54A little bit too late from Jofra Archer.
06:57But at least the positive is that he's got that in him.
07:00Any given time, he can say to Ben Strickson,
07:03I just want you to bowl 150, 145 for five overs.
07:08Let's see if we can get a wicket.
07:09Hopefully, you know, he's able to, you know, deliver when it matters.
07:13Lovely, Amit.
07:14Also, do you think, like, your off-field banter with Steve Smith,
07:17that also played a role in challenging him up during that battle with Archer?
07:22Well, you know, I think what it is, is that at Perth in the first innings,
07:28you know, he played and missed quite a bit.
07:29You know, 51% was his play and miss.
07:32And normally in Australia, it's only 10%.
07:35So when you look at it from that perspective,
07:37and, you know, I didn't expect any of the media to pick it up anyway.
07:41No, no one really listens to me.
07:43They tend to ignore me when I say, when I talk about cricket in the media.
07:46So the British media don't really pick anything up on it.
07:48It's probably got to thank Steve Smith.
07:50He made me famous.
07:51You know, thank you very much.
07:53You know, and I know the capital of Australia is New Delhi.
07:57Oh, lovely.
07:58Yeah, so I'm still trying to find Delhi in Australia,
08:01but I'm sure I'll find it at some stage.
08:03Oh.
08:03And, yeah, look, that first innings, he did struggle, you know.
08:08And that's what I think England need to think that,
08:12well, how did we get underneath his skin in the first innings at Perth,
08:15which wasn't, you know, uncharacteristic like Steve Smith innings.
08:18So that hopefully they can, you know, they've done it before.
08:21They can do it again maybe at Adelaide.
08:22But maybe, you know, coming from a perspective when everything's in your favour,
08:26modest target of 60-odd, all you're going to do is swing from, you know,
08:29swing as hard as you can.
08:31And, you know, look, let's be honest, he's one of the greats.
08:34He's a mentally tough cricketer.
08:35Part of the Ashes cricket brand is also the sledging, you know.
08:38It's just part of banter.
08:40It's fun.
08:41It's, you know, the history of 150 years that's going to happen in 2027.
08:45It shows that the brand of Ashes cricket is massive, you know.
08:48And it's all, it all comes about, you know, having a bit of fun.
08:52And he had fun.
08:53I had fun.
08:53You know, it's all banter.
08:55And that's the great thing about Ashes cricket.
08:57But, you know, England, you know, they've got to obviously understand that Steve Smith,
09:03this is his territory.
09:04You know, his percentage is 10% in Australia playing Miss.
09:08Let's see if they can challenge themselves, you know.
09:10Can they get him to play Miss small balls?
09:1249% they did it in Perth.
09:14Can they recreate that, whatever, that atmosphere, you know,
09:18when he came out to bat.
09:19And, you know, it would be credit to England, you know,
09:21if they can able to do that.
09:23Indeed, lovely.
09:24I mean, we for sure loved your banter with Smith all throughout the Indian media.
09:27I mean, also, I mean, there have been talks about England's basketball approach.
09:31I mean, it's been the favourite topic of criticism all around the world.
09:34I mean, England have at times played some unnecessary shot at crucial times
09:38and let the advantage, almost handed over the advantage to Australia.
09:42Harry Brook has finally kind of admitted that they might have to bring a bit of a caution
09:46in their approach, a bit of a change.
09:48They need to bide their time in the middle.
09:50I mean, what's your assessment of England batting so far?
09:53I mean, apart from Joe Root, it's all been tatters.
09:55Well, I suppose what's happened is that they've felt that on bouncy pitches,
10:00they can play on the up.
10:01And if anything, on the front foot, when it's really full,
10:03you hit down the ground straight or once you're in,
10:06then you're trying to maybe hit the cover shot.
10:07Generally speaking, you play test match batting,
10:10but leave the ball, let the ball is bold to you.
10:12You get used to the pace and the bounce.
10:14And I think if anything, if Harry Brook and the rest of the batting line-up
10:17can just drop a few gears, you know,
10:19they've got the potential to take the Australians on,
10:21but give yourself a chance.
10:22You know, don't see it as a T20 innings or go with a T20 mindset.
10:26Just, you know, drop the few gears down a notch.
10:29Try and play a bit more test match innings.
10:31Give yourself a bit of time.
10:32And then once you're set, you're in, then start maybe playing.
10:35And if anything, if they want to play basketball,
10:37look at, you know, Travis said the way he did it at Perth in the second innings.
10:41Off the back foot, try and play back foot shots,
10:43the cuts, the pulls, you know, the uppercut.
10:46Anything short, you go after it.
10:47Anything then back of a length, you can,
10:49if you can pull off a length or cut it, try and do that.
10:51But on the front foot, it's a high-risk shot.
10:54And I think, you know, on the two bouncy pitches,
10:57maybe, you know, people and the fans will probably forgive them.
11:00But Adelaide, if they do it again,
11:02then I think then it would really, you know,
11:04not look good for England.
11:05So I think, fingers crossed, England have learnt.
11:09And they'll say, right, let's just give ourselves a chance
11:12and then we'll start, you know, once we're in,
11:15we start playing a bit more aggressive cricket.
11:16Indeed.
11:18I mean, while the batting has been in tatters,
11:20I mean, one man, as I just mentioned,
11:22stood tall in Joe Root.
11:23Now that he's finally broken that jinx of a century in Australian soil,
11:27what do you expect out of him in the last three,
11:29that's much as three more centuries loading from his end?
11:32Well, I don't know.
11:33Joe Root's that type of character.
11:34Once he's in really good form,
11:35he tends to, you know, find himself, you know,
11:38play these gritty innings.
11:40But again, it's that full ball we saw, didn't we,
11:42at Brisbane when Mitchell Stark got him out.
11:44And that's the difficulty with Mitchell Stark.
11:46He's a hot property at the moment.
11:47He's the one who keeps getting, let's say,
11:49Ben Stokes and Joe Root out.
11:51And that's going to be the battle again, I feel, at Adelaide.
11:54So, you know, Joe Root's got to, again,
11:57counteract those angles.
11:58This time it was round the wicket.
12:00He got him out.
12:01So, it's, I think the concern is,
12:04can Joe Root play those innings again?
12:07Because England need him to do that.
12:09And I feel like he's sort of got that monkey off his back.
12:12Like, you know, everyone now, he's amongst the greats.
12:15Those 40 hundreds he's got with Jack Gullis,
12:16Ricky Ponting, you know, and the great Sachin Tanulka.
12:19So, yeah, he's amongst the greats.
12:21You know, no one can argue that anymore.
12:22No one can say, well, he's a great player,
12:24but not on Australian soil.
12:25No, he's a great player on Australian soil as well now.
12:28Now it's about him, you know, back-to-back performances
12:31to make sure England, you know, help England to win.
12:34That's going to be the key.
12:35And if you can do it, well, he's had time out in the middle.
12:38He's done it against the tougher conditions,
12:40the pink ball, the red ball's going to be slightly easier.
12:42So, yeah, I suspect that Joe Root, you know,
12:45will see the best of Joe Root now
12:47in the next few test matches.
12:49Indeed.
12:49I mean, let's hope so for England that it happens.
12:52And also, I mean, the last time England won in Australia
12:54back in 2010, 2011,
12:56you were also a part of that squad.
12:57What is it that that squad had and this squad doesn't?
13:01What do you think is the major difference?
13:02I think the major difference is, like, you look at it,
13:05to win in Australia, it's once in every 20 years, right?
13:08England win.
13:09And during the Ian Boatham days,
13:11they'll come maybe a couple of months in advance,
13:13play against some of the state teams,
13:16acclimatise to the conditions.
13:17And it takes time.
13:19You've got to give yourself at least two.
13:21We had three warm-up games.
13:22I just feel like it kind of, like, shows that
13:25England kind of lacked a bit of acclimatisation,
13:29needed a few warm-up games.
13:30And I think if they did that,
13:32then they would have figured out during the warm-up games
13:33what works, what doesn't,
13:35when they play their basketball style of cricket.
13:37But I kind of, now they've obviously got to just think of it
13:40as Perth and Brisbane was their warm-up games
13:42and the first test match for them is Adelaide now.
13:44That's the mindset they've got to, you know, go with.
13:46And it's all three red balls.
13:47There's no pink ball.
13:48There's no bouncy pitches.
13:50I think that's been probably the one, you know.
13:52Like, you look at it, it's harder than getting...
13:53Winning in Australia is harder than getting an Olympic gold,
13:57which happens every four years.
13:58It takes, you know, it's like playing...
14:00It's equivalent of, you know, going to three Olympics,
14:03you know, three to four Olympics,
14:05then getting a gold medal.
14:07And that's the difficulty.
14:08That's the challenge that you have
14:10when you come to Australia.
14:11So I think England kind of maybe slightly underestimated it.
14:14And, you know, hopefully they've learned from their mistakes,
14:17which everyone is hoping that they have done.
14:19And we just see a bit more of a closer contest
14:23between Australia and England.
14:25Indeed.
14:25I mean, I need to call the International Olympic Committee as well.
14:27We need to add two more gold medals to Indian tally
14:30since we have won there twice in Australia.
14:32Okay.
14:33So while the ashes were on,
14:34the Indian team was also in action.
14:36And they lost their second successive home series,
14:39beg your pardon,
14:39a second home series in as many years
14:41as Simon Harmer and South Africa ran through their batting.
14:44What do you think, like,
14:45why is it like India have become so habitual
14:47of capitulating against spin on their home soil?
14:50I mean, what is it with them,
14:52if you can just make out?
14:54Well, yeah, I suppose what it is,
14:55is that I think like India missing the experience
14:58in their team as well.
14:59They're playing a lot of all-rounders
15:00who are spinners and batters,
15:02kind of bits and pieces cricketers.
15:04They need to pick the best six.
15:05They need to know what the best 11 is,
15:06the best spinners.
15:08And they tend to go for the all-rounder
15:09because they're like,
15:10they know that they're covering that sort of experience
15:13of Virat Kohli.
15:13Then they're covering the experience
15:14of, you know, Ashwin's not there.
15:17And when you kind of lose two big players,
15:18then it's going to take,
15:20it's going to take time.
15:21It's going to take time to adjust.
15:22And like, if anything,
15:24if India, like, I wouldn't,
15:26I would love to see maybe India
15:27try and bring back Virat Kohli
15:28into the test arena
15:30because I think, you know,
15:31they need his experience.
15:32They need his leadership skills,
15:34his presence on the field,
15:35you know, that fight,
15:36that sort of intensity that he brings
15:37just to teach the youngsters
15:39this is a level of intensity
15:40that you need to play your test cricket
15:41like he has done.
15:42And that's kind of,
15:43is missing, I think,
15:44you know, when you watch
15:45the sort of South Africa series.
15:46South Africa, I think,
15:47were the team with more intensity
15:49while India were a bit tentative.
15:52So, yeah, look,
15:53if that happens, great.
15:54If it doesn't,
15:55then they've just got to have
15:56a transition period, you know.
15:57How can you replace,
15:59you know,
15:59550-odd test wickets,
16:02you know,
16:02nearly 10,000 test runs,
16:04over 200 matches of,
16:05you know,
16:06test match experience.
16:07Overnight, teams don't just,
16:08you know,
16:09fill that gap up
16:10and become great again.
16:11It will take time
16:13and it may take 12,
16:1412, 24 months,
16:15you know,
16:16it takes a long time.
16:17So,
16:18it could be a transition period
16:19where, you know,
16:20the Indian cricket team
16:21and the fans may just say,
16:22well, you know,
16:23that wealth of experience
16:24is gone now,
16:25that it may just take
16:26a little bit longer
16:26than expected
16:27for this India team
16:29to actually get back
16:30to his winning ways
16:31in India.
16:32Unfortunately for fans,
16:34Virat Kohli has denied
16:35he just wants to play
16:36one more format only.
16:38Also, like,
16:38you were touching upon
16:39500-odd wickets.
16:40So, now that
16:41Ashwin has retired
16:42from the Indian spin bowling attack,
16:44also, Jadeja is also
16:45in the twilight of his career.
16:48Where do you see
16:48the Indian spin bowling attack
16:50from here onwards?
16:51Do you think, like,
16:51they have the arsenal
16:53to protect their home fortress
16:54going forward?
16:56Given the likes of...
16:56Well, I think they need
16:57to invest in, like,
16:58specialist spinners.
16:59You know,
16:59they can't keep playing
17:00all-rounders.
17:00I just don't think
17:01that works.
17:02I know they did it
17:03with Ashwin,
17:04but Ashwin was a very,
17:05like, a high-class
17:06specialist spinner.
17:07So, if they're going to play
17:08Jadeja as the all-rounder,
17:09then they need,
17:10you know,
17:11like,
17:11Washington Sundar,
17:13you know,
17:13he's more of a
17:14batter bowls a little bit.
17:15You know,
17:15he wasn't as effective,
17:17you know,
17:17on these pitches.
17:18He felt the pressure as well.
17:20So, you know,
17:21I think India need to,
17:22sort of,
17:22find some specialist spinners
17:24and invest and say,
17:26right,
17:26we'll play a couple
17:26of all-rounders,
17:27but we need to play
17:28a specialist spinner.
17:28So, maybe,
17:29Kuldebi Adiv is that guy,
17:30you know,
17:31where you think,
17:31right,
17:32you know,
17:32we build a team
17:32around Kuldebi Adiv,
17:33you know,
17:33he's a specialist spinner
17:34and, you know,
17:35not just pack team
17:36with all-rounders.
17:37I just don't think
17:38that's the right strategy.
17:39I think they need to pick
17:40proper batters,
17:41they need to pick,
17:42you know,
17:42specialist bowlers
17:43and then build
17:44a couple of all-rounders.
17:45You know,
17:45that's how I think
17:46India will be better suited.
17:49Indeed.
17:49My last question to you,
17:50Monty,
17:50I know you have to go.
17:52So, the IPL auction
17:53is tomorrow
17:53and quite a few
17:54of England players
17:55have also registered
17:56their names for that.
17:57Whom are you backing
17:57to get the highest bid?
17:59I mean,
17:59there's Jamie Smith,
18:00there's Rehan Ahmed as well.
18:02So,
18:02any favourite of yours
18:04who you think
18:04will get the highest bid?
18:06Well,
18:06I think Rehan Ahmed
18:07had a fantastic county season.
18:08He's averaging 50
18:09in county games,
18:10picked up,
18:10you know,
18:11about 20-year-old wickets
18:12with a good average as well.
18:13I think he'll get picked up.
18:14Jamie Smith will definitely
18:15get picked up
18:15because on these kind
18:16of Indian surfaces,
18:18he will smash the ball
18:19out of the ground.
18:20You know,
18:20he's got that bit
18:21of downliness about him,
18:22Adam Gilchrist.
18:23I think Jamie Smith
18:24is another one,
18:25very exciting talent.
18:26You know,
18:26I think he'll get picked up.
18:27Gus Atkinson is another one,
18:28good all-rounder,
18:30candy with the ball as well.
18:32He's another player,
18:33you know,
18:33I feel will get picked up.
18:34And,
18:35you know,
18:35Ben Duckett,
18:37a useful,
18:37useful cricketer,
18:38you know,
18:39unorthodox style of play.
18:41I feel he's another one,
18:42you know,
18:43who will probably
18:43get picked up as well.
18:45Indeed.
18:45Thank you so much,
18:46Monty,
18:46for your time.
18:46It was a pleasure
18:47speaking to you.
18:48We all are rooting for England
18:50for the third Test match
18:51and hopefully,
18:52the Ashes will remain alive
18:53in Adelaide.
18:54Thank you so much.
18:54Absolutely.
18:55Thank you so much, Rishabh.
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