The Ashes 2025 will begin on November 21.
During the pre-match conference, Australia stand-in captain Steve Smith gives a hilarious response to Monty Panesar after his sandpaper remark ahead of the Ashes 2025 opener at the Optus Stadium in Perth.
Panesar recently, in an interview, suggested that England should use psychological pressure on Smith in Ashes 2025. He said England players should try to make Smith feel guilty about the Sandpapergate scandal, which dates back to 2018 against South Africa.
The former player stressed that England should question Smith’s ethics and captaincy on the field. He also added that the English media should attack Smith in the same way the Australian media would have done if the situation were reversed.
“Ben Stokes and the England team have got to make Steve Smith feel guilty and play on that (sandpapergate controversy). I hope that England uses it as an advantage and don’t just get quiet about it because we know he bats well when he’s captaining Australia,” Panesar said.
When Steve Smith was asked about Panesar’s remarks during the press conference, he quickly shifted the focus and brought up Panesar’s 2019 appearance on the quiz show Celebrity Mastermind. Smith asked the room if anyone had watched Panesar’s episode and encouraged them to check it out, calling it very comical.
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Instead of reacting seriously, Smith chose a lighter but sharper route and questioned Panesar’s credibility by reminding everyone of his blunders on a popular UK quiz show.
“Anyone that believes that Athens is in Germany, that’s a start, Oliver Twist is a season of the year and America is a city, doesn’t really bother me those comments. Yeah, that’s as far as I’ll go with that one,” he added.
During the same press conference, Smith also confirmed Australia’s playing XI for the first Ashes Test. The team will feature two debutants. South Australian seamer Brendan Doggett has been preferred over Michael Neser to replace the injured Josh Hazlewood, while Jake Weatherald will open the innings.
Australia will enter the series with strong confidence, especially considering England’s long struggle in these conditions. England have not won a Test in Australia since 2011 and have lost 13 of their last 15 matches down under, which gives Australia a clear psychological edge.
Usman Khawaja, Jake Weatherald, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith (c), Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey (wk), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Brendan Doggett, and Scott Boland.
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