'This is sad': Aussies booed in hostile World Cup opener

A debate is raging between fans on social media over the treatment of Aussie cricketers Steve Smith and David Warner at the World Cup in England.

They booed, they chanted and they even dressed as sandpaper.

And this was only on the first day of England's summer.

But with three-and-a-half long months ahead, David Warner responded in the best possible way: With runs.

Some 434 days since fateful day in Cape Town, Warner cast aside the ugly fallout of the ball-tampering scandal to finish 89no in his first official game back for Australia against Afghanistan.

Steve Smith was almost there at the end too, caught for 18 with just three runs required as the defending champions began their World Cup campaign with a seven-wicket win in Bristol.

At one point early in the afternoon Warner signed autographs and posed for photos with fans on the boundaries.

But the niceties were few and far between.

He was booed onto the field as he walked out to bat and again when he hit his first boundary.

They booed again when he brought up his half-century, and they reached their crescendo when he was named man of the match.

There were jeers for Smith too when he joined his former vice-captain in the middle.

Two spectators dressed up as sandpaper stood on an overlooking balcony holding a big image of a cricket ball.

At times, chants of "Aussie, Aussie, Aussie; Cheats, Cheats, Cheats" broke out.

Fans were mixed on social media as to whether the booing was justified.

To their credit, Australia's players were happy to pay little attention to the English crowd's hostile reception.

"We spoke about it during our camp in Brisbane about how we are going to react to it and handle it and we haven't spoken about it since," legspinner Adam Zampa said.

"We expected what we were going to cop.

"Call it what you want, disrespectful, or just a part of the game. Either way, I think the way that us as players are handling it has been great."

It certainly didn't affect Warner's batting, whose first 20 runs took 40 balls before he began to look more fluent outside off.

He only offered one real chance on 10, dropped in the slips off Hamid Hassan.

Smith's innings wasn't as long in the pair's 49-run partnership, but he already let his bat do the talking against England in a warm-up game last month.

He also had an immediate impact in the field on Saturday, forcing a mix-up and running out Mohammad Nabi when he dived to cut off a ball one-handed.

With AAP