BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA - NOVEMBER 13: Nathan Lyon of New South Wales looks on during day one of the Sheffield Shield match between Queensland and New South Wales at Allan Border Field on November 13, 2017 in Brisbane, Australia. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)

Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon has delivered an uncharacteristic tirade against the English cricket team.

The 30-year-old declared he wants to "end careers" just like Mitchell Johnson did back in the 2013/14 Ashes series in Australia.

Lyon's reference was in regards to Englishmen Graeme Swann, Kevin Pietersen, Jonathan Trott and Matt Prior, who all had a torrid time in their last trip down under.

“Watching Mitchell Johnson going round scaring all the Poms was unbelievable,” Lyon said.

“I was at leg slip, and I had to push a couple of guys back into the stumps. So it was good fun."

“I think Mitchell Johnson ended them. If you ask Mitch, it was quite satisfying if you look at his past and the pressures the English put him under, with the Barmy Army, and everything like that.”

Lyon didn't stop there, however, continuing his fighting words, this time directly at former English keeper Matt Prior who he claimed was "scared".

“(It’s an) unbelievable feeling," Lyon said.

“Knowing that they’re broken, leading into Perth. We knew they were broken. We knew Matt Prior wanted to fly home before the game started, and he was one of the senior players.”

Prior responded on Tuesday, telling The Telegraph that Lyon's suggestion was "absolutely laughable", brushing off the attack.

“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," Prior said.

"Of all the things he could have come up with? That’s completely ridiculous and all I can do is laugh. It is wholeheartedly untrue."

Lyon's rant then turned to English skipper Joe Root, who was dropped for the Sydney Test in the 2013/14 series.

“Root got dropped last time when he was here, so it’d be good to get him dropped again, wouldn’t it?" Lyon said.

“If we can start by opening up that crack, it’s pretty crucial. There’s a lot of scars for the English guys, especially coming over here, especially when we have two guys bowling 150kph, not just one now."

“I don’t want Joe to go out there and say ‘Mate, there you go, here’s a hundred today.’ I want to take his wicket. I want to put him under pressure. Test-match cricket is about being resilient and, if you can bounce back from your lows, you will have some highs.”

Lyon, a cult figure wherever he plays on home soil, is Australia's all-time leading wicket taker for an off-spinner and sits seventh of all Aussie bowlers.

Lyon took 19 wickets at an average of 29.36 in the 2013/14 series, and is confident he can repeat his feat this summer.

“It’s part of the game being a tiny little off-spinner who bowls at 86kph, not 150. I love being the underdog, I love flying under the radar and the challenges that lie ahead," Lyon added.

“My partnership with Mitch Johnson at the Gabba (in 2013-14)...where we took six for nine and broke the spine of the English there and then, on the second day of the Ashes series, my role is crucial."

“I know my role, I’m excited by it. I know they will target me. They did in England, they’ve done it before and I’m looking forward to that challenge.”

The first Test begins on Thursday at the Gabba.