Australia's Nathan Lyon accuses England Ashes star Matt Prior of cowardice

The traditional war of words ahead of the Ashes has begun after former England wicketkeeper Matt Prior defended himself against accusations of cowardice from Australia's Nathan Lyon.

The spinner tried to stoke the fires ahead of this week's first Ashes Test in Brisbane, claiming that during Australia's 5-0 whitewash of England in 2013/14, Prior was so "scared" he wanted to fly home early.

Prior issued an immediate rebuttal to the comments on Monday, saying they were "blatantly untrue" and followed that up with more on Tuesday.

The 35-year-old, who played 79 Tests before retiring from professional cricket in 2015 due to injury, wrote on Twitter: "To be clear I may have been playing badly fair enough but there was no way I was getting on a plane home. You've embarrassed yourself Nathan Lyon & this game has a funny way of biting back."

Prior was a key part of the England side which beat Australia 3-1 Down Under in 2010/11 and also helped win the urn on home soil in 2009 and 2013.

Lyon has spoken of wanting to end the careers of some of the England players by winning this series, but Prior has warned him to be careful what he wishes for.

"I sincerely hope you're not part of a losing @cricketaus team on home soil Nathan Lyon," he added.

"I still remember being sat on the outfield at the SCG after winning 3-1 while your press & fans were tearing into the Oz players. You want to end careers? Just make sure it's not yours that ends."

The first test starts in Brisbane at midnight on Thursday, UK time.