Thursday 23 November 2017 17:20, UK
England captain Joe Root has labelled Australia spinner Nathan Lyon's pre-Ashes comments as "bizarre".
Root has scoffed at the suggestion England are scarred by a 5-0 loss on their last trip to Australia, pointing out that they have won four of the last five series.
Lyon has made some contentious remarks in the build-up to the first Test, which gets underway on Thursday in Brisbane, expressing his hope that Australia will inflict such a heavy defeat on England that they will "end the careers" of some of the tourists.
Root was dropped for the final Test of the 2013/14 series and Lyon also said the Aussies were hoping that turn of events might be repeated.
But Root said his squad are more baffled than intimidated by the pre-match 'sledging'.
"It is a bit bizarre," said Root. "I think you can sort of see through it a little as well.
"Whether it's maybe a team strategy or he's just taken it upon himself to do that - who knows? The more guys talk going into a series, the more they put pressure on themselves.
"I played club cricket with him (Lyon) in Prospect (South Australia), and at the time we weren't sure who was the first spinner.
"He has obviously come a long way since then!"
England's heavy defeat in 2013/14 has been referenced on numerous occasions during the build-up.
But Root said: "You hear a lot about these 'scars', but it's a series which happened four years ago. We've won four of the last five Ashes.
"I don't know whether they are just trying to brush that under the carpet or what but, for me, it's completely irrelevant what happened four years ago."
