Regardless of what transpired at the Gabba, day one of the Ashes was arguably cause for celebration some three-and-a-half months after the pay dispute ended.
Amid the immense bitterness and countless barbs that enveloped Cricket Australia (CA) and the Australian Cricketers' Association (ACA) this year, the prospect of the Ashes being affected captured the public's attention more than any other aspect.
CA and the ACA were both privately confident the five-Test series would proceed as planned, but the standoff meant neither was in a position to make any sort of categoric guarantee until the new agreement was signed.
Steve Waugh, a leading figure in the formation of the ACA and signing of the first deal 20 years ago, suggested the spat would not affect players' relationships with their employer this summer.
"It's business and you get on with it," Waugh told AAP before his Captain's Ride charity event.
However, Waugh's forthright view of an episode he deemed unprofessional, unnecessary and embarrassing was a reminder of how bad a look it was for the game.
"It was very poorly handled by both sides, in particular Cricket Australia," Waugh said.
"They had five years to broker this deal and it went over (deadline), so it was unprofessional all round. It didn't need to happen.
"I was amazed they left it so late.
"We did the hard work back then (1997) so it should have been a lot easier. That was the disappointing part.
"It was pretty embarrassing for both sides."
Both organisations vowed to review the spiteful saga and assess what they could have done better. CA's internal probe has been finalised but recommendations, if there are any, won't be made public.
Debutant Cameron Bancroft was one of many players to suffer because of the dispute, having been part of the Australia A squad who failed to tour South Africa in July.
Bancroft remained in England throughout the uncertainty.
"There's no doubt it was frustrating but ... I still got to play some first-class cricket for Gloucestershire," Bancroft said earlier this week.
"Communication was really good from all parties."
The feud failed to turn supporters off the famed contest between Australia and England.
Thursday was the first of many soldout crowds. The vast majority of fans were anchored to their seats throughout a rain delay that lasted more than 90 minutes, desperate to see more.
