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Former England spinner Monty Panesar has responded to Steve Smith's bizarre swipe at him by saying he made his mistakes "on a quiz show", while the stand-in Australia captain "made his on a cricket field".
Speaking on the eve of the first Ashes Test in Perth, Smith ridiculed Panesar, saying anyone who thought "Athens is in Germany" or "Oliver Twist is a season" should not be taken seriously.
He was referring to the spinner's appearance on BBC TV show Celebrity Mastermind in 2019, when Panesar managed only one correct answer in the general knowledge round.
But referring again to the ball-tampering scandal against South Africa in 2018 that led to Smith's sacking as Australian captain, Panesar told Radio 5 Live: "I've had some great moments for England and I've had shockers, and he's had some great moments for Australia and he's obviously had a very big shocker in South Africa.
"We've both made mistakes. I made mine on a quiz show, he made his on a cricket field."
The spat followed comments to a gambling website from the 43-year-old last week on how England should make Smith feel "guilty" about his part in the 'Sandpapergate' incident, where Australia's "leadership group" had a plan, carried out by Cameron Bancroft, to tamper with the ball to "get an advantage".
Smith, 36, has often been taunted by fans over the scandal.
And he brought up Panesar's Mastermind episode, calling it "pretty comical", when responding to the ex-bowler's views.
"Anyone who believes that Athens is in Germany, Oliver Twist is a season of the year, and America is a city, it doesn't really bother me those comments," Smith said in his pre-match news conference.
With Pat Cummins out with a back injury, Smith will lead Australia in the first Test, which begins at Perth Stadium on Friday.
And Panesar, who played 50 Tests between 2006 and 2013, added: "What makes it more sort of pleasing is that the night before the Test match, he's watching my Mastermind clips, memorising the questions and the answers.
"And it kind of feels like England are already in his head and I can rattle the Aussies from sitting on my sofa."
Panesar admitted he was "surprised" by Smith's decision to bring up his appearance on Celebrity Mastermind, saying he expected a more measured response from the Australian batsman.
The 43-year-old had correctly answered six questions on Sikhism and its history in the specialist subject round of the show.
"I think everyone from my media friends, to everyone in the media, have said they couldn't believe Smith kind of responded in that way," added Panesar.
"I thought everyone thought it would have been just a bit more, 'right it's OK, yeah fine, I cheated, it's not a problem, I've moved on from that, it's not an issue'.
"But because he's done it in this way, I think he's kind of opened up now for the England boys to really sort of go hard at him, play a few mind games with him and that could be the difference where he gets out early.
"And suddenly they'll be sort of saying thanks Monty for just trying to engage in that conversation, of maybe seeing if you talk about sandpaper will it make him feel a little bit guilty or not?
"Look, I know I'm guilty of bad general knowledge but not ball-tampering. And I'll take that everyday."
Luton-born Panesar, who played for Sussex, Essex and Northamptonshire in his county career, was part of the England side that won the 2009 Ashes series.
In 2024, he announced his intention to stand as an MP in the general election for the Workers Party of Britain, only to pull out a week later.
