Ashes 2017-18: Matt Prior rubbishes Nathan Lyon's claim as laughable

The build up to the Ashes 2017-18 has already started and the war of words has begun already. Recently, Australian spinner Nathan Lyon had caught former English wicket-keeper Matt Prior off guard with his claims. Lyon had quoted that Prior was scared to bat against Mitchell Johnson during the 2013 Ashes. Recently, the former English cricketer ridiculed all these remarks made by Lyon.

As per the quotes in the Dailymail, Matt Prior termed all the claims of Lyon as laughable. He questioned that had he been scared, he would have headed back home instead of playing the full tour. He looked amused at why Lyon targeted him and why he came up with ridiculous claims.

“That’s absolutely laughable. If that was the case and I was scared why didn’t I go home then? I have no idea where this has come from. Of all the things he could come up with? That’s completely ridiculous and all I can do is laugh. It’s wholeheartedly untrue,” quoted Matt Prior.

Will be watching Lyon

Interestingly, during that tour, Matt Prior had scored a fighting 69 in the second innings of that Adelaide Test. Prior noted that being dropped from the final two Tests certainly hurt him back then. For now, he is keen on watching how Lyon fares up in the upcoming Ashes. He feels that the Australian spinner should focus on his game rather than making such claims.

“I stayed out there and what hurt me more was being dropped for the last two Tests because I wasn’t playing well. I think Nathan Lyon has got other things to worry about without thinking about me. I hope the first Test goes really well for him because otherwise I’d suggest he’s concentrating on the wrong things. I will be watching with interest to see how he goes. I hope he lets his cricket do the talking now. That’s all I want to say about this,” mentioned the former English wicketkeeper.