One would assume that the Australia dressing room would be busy charting plans ahead of their Test series against India, but the chatter currently seems to be on a completely unrelated topic: Tim Paine’s ‘tight’ wallet.

Steve Smith, in a light-hearted chat on The Jimmy Smith show on SEN Sydney, revealed how Michael Neser, the uncapped Test bowler, found himself at the sticky end of a game of credit card roulette,after being left stranded by skipper Tim Paine in the last round.

“There’s been a little bit of talk about Tim Paine being a little bit tight recently,” Smith said.

Smith revealed how a 10-member party of the isolating Australia team racked up a $1,000 bill at dinner, and engaged in their traditional game of credit card roulette, leaving Paine and Neser as the last two standing.

As it turned out, Neser, the only player in the squad not centrally contracted, ended up having to foot the bill, with Paine unable to hide his own miserly side.

“You should have seen the elation on his (Paine’s) face. It was something else,” Smith said. “It’s a decent whack for him [Neser]. I think he was the only non-contracted bloke who was there too,” Smith said.

“It’s a bit unfortunate, but if you play the game you have to take it, don’t you.”

One can’t entirely blame Paine, who, during self-isolation in March, was the victim of a car break-in and had his wallet stolen. Perhaps, the replacement card is yet to arrive for the Test skipper.

As for Neser, a veteran of two ODIs, this was possibly a welcome initiation to the Test team’s ever-combative spirit.

The four-match Test series begins on December 27, with the first match, a day/night game, scheduled to be held in Adelaide. You can check here for the complete list of fixtures for the tour, and here for the complete Australia squad.