Updated June 25, 2019 11:50:00

England captain Eoin Morgan will not follow the lead of India's Virat Kohli by telling fans to respect Australia's David Warner and Steve Smith, saying it is up to fans to decide when they want to accept the pair.

Fan behaviour is again in the spotlight after England opener Jonny Bairstow, in a newspaper column, accused Australia of hypocrisy on the matter.

Warner and Smith will on Tuesday play their first official match against England since the ball-tampering scandal and 12-month bans, ahead of five Ashes Tests in August and September.

They were jeered throughout a warm-up match against the World Cup hosts in Southampton last month, with Smith even booed as he reached three figures.

Photo: Steve Smith and David Warner may be subjected to some rough treatment at Lord's. (AP: Matt Dunham)

The pair have been generally well received over the past fortnight, though, with India captain Kohli even telling his own fans to cheer the former Australian captain and vice-captain.

Even England spinner Moeen Ali, in an interview with the Guardian, said he hoped that the pair "get treated decently" and that "they don't get too much stick".

But Morgan has not followed suit, saying fans are within their rights to voice their opinions about the pair.

"You don't know how sports fans are going to react. I think they are entitled to have their own view," Morgan said.

The booing of Smith and Warner is a backhanded acknowledgement of the threat they pose to what is supposed to be England's perfect cricketing summer, writes Richard Hinds.

"Just because punishment was handed out and the two guys served their punishment doesn't mean they are going to be accepted back into the cricket community straight away with open arms.

"It will take time."

Morgan and Smith have not always seen eye to eye on the field, with the then-captains clashing over Australia's refusal to withdraw an appeal against Ben Stokes for obstructing the field in an ODI match in 2015, coincidentally at Lord's.

Tuesday's crowd is expected to be slightly easier on the Australia pair than what's anticipated for the majority of the Ashes.

The World Cup clash will take place at Lord's, which generally hosts a more respectful crowd — particularly among the members.

Photo: Eoin Morgan will hope for a return to form against Australia. (AP: Rui Vieira)

The Barmy Army will not be present in an official capacity, either, given tickets were not sold directly to the notoriously boisterous England official supporters group for the World Cup.

In a column for The Telegraph, Bairstow noted that former Australia coach Darren Lehmann had told crowds to "give it to" Stuart Broad in the 2013-14 Ashes in the "hope he cries" and "goes home".

He's just made 166, he's averaging a tick under 90 so far at the Cricket World Cup. But there's still something not right with David Warner's batting, writes Geoff Lemon.

He claimed that was at odds with Justin Langer's pre-tournament pleas for Smith and Warner to be treated as human beings by crowds.

"I'm sure it was not meant maliciously [by Lehmann in 2013], but for Australians then to say 'do not boo these guys' is interesting," Bairstow wrote.

"It has to work both ways; it can't just all be one way."

Meanwhile, Australia's players remain undeterred by the situation, with Warner having hit two centuries and Smith averaging above 40.

"It hasn't affected our boys one bit, I can honestly say that if anything it's given them a bit more motivation," captain Aaron Finch said.

"Whatever the public do, you're not going to change it, whether someone comes out and says do or don't ... It's just going to happen regardless."

AAP/ABC

Topics: sport, cricket, united-kingdom, england

First posted June 25, 2019 09:46:11