Steve Smith photo comes to light amid T20 World Cup controversy

Cricket fans are calling for Steve Smith to be rushed back into Australia's XI at the T20 World Cup after the hosts were thrashed by New Zealand in their opening match on Saturday night.

The 89-run defeat at the hands of the Black Caps marked the worst possible start for Australia, who are now facing six must-win games to defend their title.

'WHAT A JOKE': Australia under fire over 'embarrassing' scenes

'SHAME ON YOU': West Indies savaged over 'awful' World Cup farce

Australia's net run-rate also copped a hammering, meaning it is possible they could go through the rest of the group stage unbeaten but still miss the finals.

Chasing 201 to win on Saturday night after their bowlers copped a hammering, the Aussie batters never fired and were bowled out for just 111 in 17.1 overs.

Glenn Maxwell was the only batter to pass 20, with Mitch Marsh, Tim David and Marcus Stoinis all holing out in the deep.

Fans are now calling for Smith to be brought back into the starting XI after he was left out of the side for the tournament opener.

Cricket journalist Bharat Sundaresan tweeted photos of Smith hitting catching practice for his teammates before the match, a stunning fall from grace for one of the world's premier batters.

While Smith's record in T20s is far from what it is in ODI and Test cricket, fans were still stunned to see how far he has fallen in the Australian pecking order.

"Rarely seen Steve Smith smashing balls into the outfield to help out with boundary catching practice," Sundaresan tweeted.

"And yes he was getting into his proper batting stance before smashing the ball each time."

Fans were quick to suggest Smith should be brought back in as Australia's top and middle order crumbled on Saturday night.

The 33-year-old Smith was a member of the World Cup-winning Aussie side last year, but has struggled for runs in recent T20 internationals in India and at home.

Australia's chairman of selectors George Bailey said before Saturday night's match that Smith could come back into the XI at some stage in the tournament.

"I think all the members of our 15 have a role to play but I don't think that will be starting in the XI for Steve," Bailey said.

"I think that should we need a role from him at some stage, then absolutely."

Aussies adamant World Cup campaign isn't over

Australia coach Andrew McDonald said afterwards that his team now has clarity about the job at hand, with the Aussies having also recovered from an early loss to England to make last year's finals.

"We've been here before. I think most teams have been here before," McDonald said.

"First and foremost is not to look too far ahead. Sri Lanka is our next opponent in Perth. That is our next focus.

"What will happen with net run-rates and that will transpire across the tournament.

"Great clarity comes out of the disappointment of tonight. Once you get that clarity, it's pretty simple ... The boys are sitting in there pretty clear on what happens."

Australia next face Sri Lanka in Perth on Tuesday, before their biggest challenge awaits against England on Friday before they finish up against Afghanistan and Ireland.

"We've taken the fate out of our own hands to a point," captain Aaron Finch conceded.

"We need to be ultra-positive, ultra-aggressive, and I'm sure that we'll all do that.

"T20 is a momentum game at times. It can be brutal at times.

"To be able to not look that far ahead is important because you can't win the tournament if you don't win the next game or the next contest.

"There's a lot of big things that can distract you if you allow them. So the fact that we've lost one game, we can't dwell on that."

with AAP

Click here to sign up to our newsletter for all the latest and breaking stories from Australia and around the world.