Former England spinner to play Sydney grade cricket after war of words with Aussie captain
Monty Panesar has rekindled his love affair with Sydney grade cricket, with the former England spinner set to play for Campbelltown this weekend.On Friday evening, Campbelltown Camden District Cricket Club confirmed the 43-year-old had been selected for the fourth grade team, facing Hawkesbury in Western Sydney. Yet to win a game, Campbelltown currently sit in bottom of the Fourth Grade Reid Cup ladder.Panesar, who claimed 167 wickets at 34.71 across 50 Tests for England, previously represented the club in 2016/17, also playing for Randwick-Petersham in 2011/12 and Western Suburbs in 2013/14.Watch The Ashes 2025/26 LIVE and ad-break free during play with FOX CRICKET on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1 >Last week, Panesar become embroiled in a war of words with Australian stand-in captain Steve Smith ahead of the first Ashes Test in Perth. During the pre-match press conference, Smith was asked about Panesar’s claim the England team and the British tabloids should target the New South Welshman over his involvement in the 2018 Cape Town sandpaper scandal.In response, Smith referenced Panesar’s embarrassing appearance on UK quiz show Mastermind in 2019.“Anyone that believes that Athens is in Germany, Oliver Twist is a season of the year and America is a city, doesn’t really bother me those comments,” Smith declared.The following day, Panesar penned a scathing response in The Telegraph.“It’s bad knowledge, but at least it isn’t ball-tampering,” he wrote.“I would actually ask Steve whether he can look himself in the mirror yet and admit that he was part of ‘sandpapergate’, the worst example of Australian cheating in history.“To think that he wanted to talk about me before one of the biggest days of his career – when he will lead Australia out against England as he stands in for absent captain Pat Cummins – is flattering, and nothing short of hilarious.“If I’m guilty of anything, it is having bad general knowledge. And that is better than being a cheat.”
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