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David Warner and Steve Smith were booed by fans in Birmingham during a lively start to the World Cup semi-final between Australia and England.
It wasn't the boos that got David Warner but the bounce.
Warner and Aaron Finch were overwhelmed in a frenetic start to Thursday's semi-final in Birmingham, where locals lapped up the carnage as Australia crashed to 3-14 amid a new-ball onslaught form Jofra Archer and Chris Woakes.
Steve Smith threatened to dig Australia out of trouble for the umpteenth time in a stellar career, steering his team past 3-100, but once again copped a torrent of boos.
The treatment of Warner, Australia's leading run-scorer at the World Cup, and Smith has been a constant talking point as they searched for absolution at the tournament hosted by England.
England captain Eoin Morgan opted against following the lead of counterpart Virat Kohli, who won no shortage of admirers in Australia - and the Australian dressing room - when he called on India's supporters to show some respect.
"They have committed something and they have served their penalty. It doesn't necessarily mean they are welcomed back with open arms into the cricket community, regaining trust takes a lot of time," Morgan said last month.
Warner and Smith, playing their most important match since returning from year-long bans emanating from the Cape Town cheating scandal, braced for their most hostile reception yet at Edgbaston, a venue renowned for its vocal and raucous crowd.
Warner's stay at the crease lasted just 11 deliveries.
The stands were still filling when he offered a simple catch to Jonny Bairstow at first slip but large sections of the crowd still made their disgust clear.
The opener, booed across England with the exception of a few venues, was jeered as he trudged off the field.
A strong security presence was stationed at the staircase at the fall of wicket but there was no repeat of the in-your-face crowd abuse that Warner copped in South Africa last year.
The dismissed batsman's biggest agitator was a fan wanting a selfie at the most inopportune of moments but Warner's introspection would have centred on his dismissal rather than anything else.
Pre-tournament predictions were of record-breaking run-fests and an England-India final but, as has often been the case in recent weeks, it was pace and bounce that helped the hosts swing momentum after losing the toss.
Having dispatched a full ball from Woakes with a textbook blow back over the bowler's head, Warner was undone the very next delivery by a bouncer that hurried him.
Woakes also captured the wicket of Peter Handscomb, on World Cup debut, during a lively six-over opening spell.
Archer was likewise impressive, trapping Finch lbw with his first ball then later drawing blood and removing Alex Carey's helmet with a nasty bouncer.
