The Ashes: Former England player Monty Panesar hits back at mastermind Steve Smith’s jibe

But referring back to the ball-tampering scandal against South Africa in 2018 that led to Smith’s sacking as Australia’s captain, Panesar told Radio 5 Live: “I’ve had some great moments for England and I’ve been through traumas, he’s had some great moments for Australia and obviously he’s had a pretty big trauma in South Africa.”

“We both made mistakes. I made mine on a quiz show, he made his on the cricket field.”

The row followed comments on a gambling website from the 43-year-old last week about how England should make Smith feel “guilty” over his role in the “Sandpapergate” incident, where Australia’s “command group” had a plan, carried out by Cameron Bancroft, to manipulate the ball “to gain an advantage”.

Smith, 36, has often been mocked by fans due to the scandal.

He brought up Panesar’s Mastermind episode as “very comedic” when responding to the former bowler’s views.

“Anyone who thinks Athens is in Germany, Oliver Twist is the season of the year, and America is in debt, those comments don’t really bother me,” Smith said in his pre-match press conference.

With Pat Cummins out with a back injury, Smith will lead Australia in the first Test, which begins at Perth on Friday.

Panesar, who played 50 Tests between 2006 and 2013, added: “What makes it even more entertaining is that the night before the Test match, he would watch my Mastermind clips, and memorize the questions and answers.

“It’s as if he’s already got England on his mind and I can annoy the Australians sitting on my sofa.”