Steve Smith hit back at “comical” Monty Panesar after the former England spinner urged fans to target him during the Ashes over the 2018 ball-tampering scandal.

Smith was banned for a year and sacked as captain after conspiring to alter the ball during the third Test against South Africa in Cape Town.

The retired Panesar, who played 50 Tests, said last week that Smith should be made to feel “guilty” about his part in the scandal.

On the eve of the first Test in Perth, Smith pointed to Panesar’s gaffe-ridden 2019 appearance on a celebrity edition of the British quiz show Mastermind.

“I’m going to go off topic for a second here,” an apparently pre-prepared Smith told a press conference when asked about the criticism.

“Who of you in the room have seen ‘Mastermind’ and Monty Panesar on that?

“Any of you? Well, those of you that have, you’ll understand where I’m coming from, and those of you haven’t, do yourself a favour because it’s pretty comical.

“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,” he added. “That’s as far as I’ll go with that one.”

During his Mastermind appearance, Panesar did well on his specialist subject but failed miserably when it came to general knowledge.

Panesar responded to star batsman Smith’s jibes by telling the BBC later on Thursday: “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 36-year-old Smith is standing in as captain in the absence of regular captain Pat Cummins, who is on his way back from injury.

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