SYDNEY - James Sutherland, the Cricket Australia chief executive, has made the first conciliatory noises since player pay talks with the Australian Cricketers Association broke down last week, stating the two parties "have a lot more in common than they have not" and expressing hope for compromises in what are widely divergent positions at present.

CA have made it plain in their submission to the players that they want to break up the revenue sharing model that has existed for the past 20 years, limiting it to only the top 20 male players and excluding domestic cricketers and also women from a guaranteed share of the money earned by the game down under.

Other contentions, including questions over whether it is "appropriate" for CA to fund the ACA, have raised eyebrows among the players. Bitter exchanges of views over various clauses in women's contracts culminated in the suspension of talks by CA last week, leaving the players' delegation all dressed up at the board's Jolimont headquarters with nowhere to go.

Having worked closely on the relationship with the ACA in the past, principally with the former chief executives Tim May and Paul Marsh, Sutherland said he was hopeful that talks would resume in the new year on a less adversarial basis after both sides had time to reflect on the past few weeks.

Kevin Roberts, the former board director and now senior executive widely thought to be Sutherland's likely successor, is leading CA's delegation this time around.

"It was probably an opportune time, the right time, just to take a little bit of a deep breath with a couple of issues circulating, and to be honest we haven't properly got into discussions or negotiations," Sutherland told ABC Radio. "It was really just some formalities at the start in terms of putting each other's perspectives or proposals on the table.

"We haven't gone into any detail with that, I think it's a long haul in terms of detail we need to go through, but I think the facts of the matter are that both organisations have a lot more in common than they have not, and from that perspective it's all in the interest of the game, ensuring the game's better.

"And as I've said before, the opportunity around these sort of agreements which come around every five years or perhaps a little bit less sometimes, is to come to a better agreement. An agreement that helps the game to be better and helps all the relevant stakeholders to be supported."

The players are seeking the retention of the revenue sharing agreement, which guarantees around 26% of Australian Cricket Revenue (ACR) goes to the players. At the same time they want the definition of ACR to be expanded to counterbalance the inclusion of women in the same MOU for the first time. Last week Australia's players were addressed by May, who told them about the history of the accord between players and board.

"I talked about the historical battles of 1997 and the incredible similarities that are bobbing up now," May told the Age. "I told them that they weren't selfish then. Yes, they wanted a benefit, but also wanted a system to last into the future. You owe it not only to yourselves, but to future generations and to the players 20 years ago."

Meanwhile, Sutherland also stated that a Christmas Day Big Bash League match was becoming increasingly likely, though probably not as soon as next summer. "The more I think about it... then you see the next day, the NBA and the audiences they get... I think the growing sentiment is that that's a possibility," he said.

"We'd need to think about the right venue for it, and we also need to consult widely. We understand that it's not just a narrow-minded cricket decision. There's a lot more to it than that. And we'll think that through. But I think it is an opportunity and it would be a good thing for the game and for cricket fans around the country.

"The Australian cricket team come in a few days before Christmas and they're here. I know in Women's Big Bash League, our daughter, she was on a lunch-time flight to Sydney, Christmas Day. It's part and parcel of what happens as a professional cricketer today, so I think that's a concern or a matter that we'll talk through, but cricketers are on the move at that time of year anyway."