The following updates to Cricket Australia’s Executive Team are being announced with much pleasure. The first is the appointment of James Allsopp to the recently created role of Chief of Cricket, and Sarah Pragnell to the role of Chief Financial Officer (CFO).
Following Samantha Douglas’s earlier resignation as CFO, Sarah Pragnell was appointed following a highly competitive process. Sarah is a senior financial executive with almost two decades of experience in FMCG, corporate advice, and investment banking. She is now the ANZ/Asia Regional CFO & Group Corporate Finance Director at the H&H Group (Swisse Wellness), where she will be joining CA.
Sarah joined H&H Group over eight years ago, having previously worked for Medibank Private, Macquarie Capital, and Lion Capital Advisory. She is an Australian rowing representative and has an INSEAD master’s degree in finance.
As the new Chief of Cricket for CA, James Allsopp will be in charge of all cricket-related operations, including as high performance, national teams, talent pathway programmes, and community cricket.
Ben Oliver will stay on as the CA Executive team member and EGM for National Teams. Ben has led Australia cricket to remarkable success during the past few years, which has included winning the Women’s T20 and ODI World Cups, the Men’s and Women’s Ashes, and the ICC Men’s Test World Championship and ODI World Cup.
With this adjustment, Ben will be able to concentrate even more on the success of Australia’s world-champion teams during a period of growing complexity and change in the cricket globe.
After serving as Cricket ACT’s chief executive for three years, James Allsopp joined CA in 2021 as Executive General Manager of Community Cricket and Capability. He has a wealth of playing experience, having captained the Sydney Premier Cricket team Bankstown First XI and represented both the NSW Second XI and Under-19 squads.
“With her background at Macquarie Capital, Lion Capital Advisory, and Medibank Private, in addition to her tenure as a senior finance officer with the H&H Group (Swisse Wellness), Sarah Pragnell offers a plethora of knowledge to the position of CFO. According to Cricket Australia CEO Nick Hockley, Sarah emerged victorious in a fiercely contested process and offers significant expertise in commercial finance to the game of cricket.
“I’m thrilled to announce that James Allsopp will take on the job of Chief of Cricket, a position that will facilitate communication and coordination between national teams, high-performance systems, talent paths, and community cricket.
James has a wealth of experience and accomplishments as a player, coach, and administrator. His knowledge and vision will guarantee that we can continue to excel in all facet of the game.
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Hockley continued, “This move guarantees that Ben Oliver can focus his entire attention on the sustainable success of our national teams, building on the incredible results achieved in recent years.” Cricket’s phenomenal global growth is bringing both opportunities and a new level of complexity. As we look ahead to what promises to be an exciting and demanding season, which includes the five-Test NRMA Insurance Border-Gavaskar Trophy and the CommBank Women’s Ashes series, I’m convinced that these appointments will have a strong positive impact on cricket at all levels.”
“These hit shows will contribute to the expansion of junior participation programmes and competitions across the nation, along with the thrill of Big Bash Leagues,” he continued.
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