Spectators wave sandpapers at David Warner, Cameron Bancroft at Ashes

David Warner walks back after losing his wicket in the Ashes 2019.

There were expectations of a hostile reception to incoming cricketers Steve Smith, Cameron Bancroft and David Warner and the crowd lived up to the expectations by creating a loud atmosphere when Cameron Bancroft and David Warner came out to bat.

On Thursday, Warner and Bancroft didn't have a great return to the Australia Test side as they were both dismissed by Stuart Broad within the first eight overs of the match. While Bancroft scored a mere 8, Warner could manage only two runs.

Having served their respective bans for their roles in the Sandpaper scandal, the Australian openers were greeted with a chorus of boos by the hostile Edgbaston crowd.

In addition to the boos, the English crowd also waved sandpapers at both Bancroft and Warner post their dismissals as they walked off the field.

Bancroft was caught trying to rough up one side of the ball with sandpaper the Cape Town Test against South Africa. Warner and Smith were banned from international cricket for 12 months while Bancroft was handed a nine-month ban by Cricket Australia.

However, Smith didn't pay any heed to the hostile treatment he got from the English crowd and played a magnificent 144-run knock to take Australia to 284 in their first innings.

Earlier, while serving the ban for ball-tampering, Australia's former captain Steve Smith had opened up about the dark thoughts he had during his troubled days.

Steve Smith had opened up about to Cricket Australia's website, saying, "I've made a mistake and it was a big mistake and I'm trying to move on from that and improve as a person. "There have been some dark days where I haven't wanted to get out of bed and things like that. "I've had tough days, I've had my ups and downs. But I've been really fortunate to have a close group of people around me to help me through those difficult times."

Fellow Australian cricketer Glenn Maxwell had said last year regarding the incident that, "I think the way they saw it, it was obviously beaten up a fair bit and they've seen a couple of their mates treated like criminals," he told Melbourne's Radio SEN Wednesday. "That is a hard thing for you to watch as a teammate, and to what they went through, especially Steve Smith at the airport, that was a hard thing for everyone to watch. "To then try and get yourself ready for a game of cricket a day later was extremely difficult, and I certainly didn't envy their position at all. It was an extremely tough time for that whole playing group."

Both Steve Smith and David Warner came back impressively after serving their bans to put up brilliant batting displays in the IPL and World Cup held earlier this year.

With inputs from IANS

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