Ball tampering trio met with jeers, boos, face masks and lots and lots of sandpaper, as Edgbaston crowd revels in their discomfort

The Barmy Army vowed to give David Warner, Steve Smith and Cameron Bancroft a hostile verbal reception in their comeback matches. Unlike Warner and Bancroft, they did not disappoint.

Tim Paine didn’t rate the intimidatory reputation of the notorious Edgbaston fans in his top 15 around the world.

But he might want to review that ranking after watching from close-up as the most reviled of his troops – the Cape Town trio, back for their first Tests since the ugly ball-tampering scandal which rocked Australian cricket last year – copped brutal treatment on day one of the Ashes.

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The Barmy Army had promised to put David Warner, Steve Smith and Cameron Bancroft in the spotlight in their comeback matches.

And they delivered in spades.

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On the eve of the match, it was revealed the rambunctious fan group would be sporting T-shirts branding the trio as “Clueless” in a mock of the boardgame Cluedo.

David Warner was greeted with chants of ‘cheat. cheat. cheat’ when he walked out to the crease.

And still, the Australian team spoke privately about how they expected the Birmingham faithful to “take it up a notch” from the vociferous booing the Australians experienced during World Cup.

And so it was.

England fans at Edgbaston came sporting masks mocking Steve Smith for his emotional response to the fall out from sandpapergate.

The booing started when the teams were being announced on the big screen before the start of play – as the Edgbaston stands had begun to fill up with the sort of fans who Australia had been warned about.

Cameron Bancroft’s first match for Australia since Newlands was not one to remember.

David Warner’s face flashed up first, then Cameron Bancroft’s as both were loudly jeered.

The face of Usman Khawaja, batting at No.3, came and went without any fanfare before Steve Smith appeared and the whole ground erupted.

Pockets of fans dotted around the ground sported Steve Smith masks – not of his smiling face, but rather the teary image from when he broke down in his first press conference back on home soil after the Cape Town fiasco.

The sledging fans doubled down by breaking into song about that same press conference.

“Cry on the telly! We saw you cry on the telly! Cry on the tellllyyyy.”

England fans wave off Australia batsman Cameron Bancroft - with pre-made props for the occasion.

Stuart Broad did his part, knocking over two-thirds of the Cape Town trio and in each instance as they walked from the field fans waved pieces of yellow sandpaper in their direction.

When Bancroft was removed for just 8, the England fans got a two-for-one opportunity – booing the West Australian as he trudged back to the dressing room, before cranking it up to 11 as Smith crossed the boundary rope to join the party.

The mood was hostile and the Australians were in the crosshairs as chants of “cheat, cheat, cheat” rang out around the ground – coming through loud and clear on the TV broadcast being beamed around the world.

And if the sledges could be heard in Sydney, how could they be ignored by those on the centre wicket?

Originally published as Ball tampering trio met with jeers, boos, face masks and lots and lots of sandpaper, as Edgbaston crowd revels in their discomfort