They booed, they chanted, and they even dressed as sandpaper, but that didn't stop David Warner from lading Australia to victory against Afghanistan in their Cricket World Cup opener.

Some 434 days since the 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.

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.