Coulter-Nile was temporarily forced to leave the training session at Southampton's Ageas Bowl, the squad's last before Thursday's series-opening one-dayer against England, to find a replacement jersey. He was wearing only tatters above his waist as he jogged back to the dressing room, courtesy of a good-natured scrap with Pattinson.

Australia had started their session with, as is customary, a ball game that took in elements of rugby, soccer and Australian rules. During the hybrid game Pattinson and Coulter-Nile, who theoretically could be duelling for selection for Thursday's day-nighter against England, became entangled, with each refusing the let the other go. They dragged each other to the turf, albeit both with a smile on the face the whole time.

When the wrestle ended Coulter-Nile's shirt was ripped so badly it barely covered any of his torso. He retreated to the dressing rooms seeking a replacement top, to the amusement of his teammates, onlookers and even himself.

"I thought we weren't meant to take this seriously," the 27-year-old said with a smile as he jogged past journalists.

Even though Pattinson's top was relatively unscathed he joked after training that the scuffle should have been deemed a draw.

The incident was reminiscent of the regular good-natured training clashes between Ricky Ponting and Justin Langer, which continued even after Langer had retired and was serving as batting coach in the team then still captained by Ponting.

The cheerful reaction of the pacemen during and in the aftermath of their scuffle was in marked contrast to their typical on-field reactions when playing, with Pattinson in particular renowned for adopting the stereotypical snarling fast-bowler persona during matches.