Origin of the Ashes: Cricket Australia unveils new energy sponsor to replace Alinta

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Australia’s biggest energy supplier, Origin Energy, will emblazon the shirts of the Test team this Ashes summer as part of a three-year, multimillion-dollar deal, two years after the end of Cricket Australia’s sponsorship by Alinta.

The new energy deal follows a summer of record crowds and audience figures for the Border-Gavaskar Test series against India, and has been announced days before the first Test against England in Perth on Friday.

Ben Dwarshuis, Pat Cummins, Phoebe Litchfield and Hannah Darlington with CA’s new sponsor.

It is also a much-needed addition to CA’s balance sheet after the governing body’s sixth consecutive season recording a net operating loss, after distributing millions of dollars in annual funding to the state associations.

“Origin joins Australia’s national sport during the biggest international season in our history and their commitment to cricket will help us grow the game further,” CA chief executive Todd Greenberg said in a statement.

“We’re particularly pleased Origin’s involvement with the game will extend to community cricket with their contribution to the Australian Cricket Infrastructure Fund providing energy solutions and potential savings for local clubs.”

Energy has been a tricky sponsorship category for CA since the conclusion of the Alinta deal, partly because men’s Test captain Pat Cummins has been a vocal advocate for reductions in carbon emissions.

In 2022 he founded Cricket for Climate, an organisation devoted to finding renewable energy solutions around the game, including the installation of solar panels at multiple grassroots clubs around the country.

Cummins visited Canberra in August and met with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to advocate, on behalf of Sport Forever, for the creation of a $100 million fund over five years to help grassroots sporting clubs manage energy and climate change costs.

Cricket For Climate struck a note of pragmatism earlier this month when it unveiled a partnership with Origin Zero - a subsidiary of Origin - to help build a “connected energy ecosystem” across sporting facilities in Blacktown to Sydney’s west.

CFC and Origin Zero had been in talks for the past 18 months before their partnership was announced. Origin’s chief executive Frank Calabria has been a vocal advocate for an energy transition to net zero as the best way to bring down power bills in the long term.

Test captain Pat Cummins emblazoned with the Alinta logo in 2022.Credit: Getty

While not involved in negotiations, Cummins was briefed on the partnership and Origin’s views on sustainability, two sources familiar with the deal confirmed. The CA deal with Origin is separate to CFC’s work with Origin Zero.

“Through Cricket for Climate, we’ve been working to future-proof local clubs with solar, battery and education solutions,” Cummins said.

“This partnership between Cricket Australia and Origin will help us take that mission further, bringing clean energy solutions to community cricket right across the country, like our recently announced partnership with Blacktown City Council. I’m pleased Origin has chosen to support Australian cricket.”

CA signed an initial four-year deal with Western Australia-based Alinta in 2018, at a time when some other sponsors were hesitant to join up with cricket after the Newlands ball tampering scandal.

The deal ended in June 2023 after a one-year extension, with Alinta and CA both stating that the decision was made because of a change in the energy provider’s branding strategy.

Since that time, CA’s top-end administration and board have undergone significant turnover. There is a new chief executive in Todd Greenberg, a new head of commercial, Ed Sanders, and a new chair, former New South Wales Premier Mike Baird.

CA’s commercial stocks have risen in parallel. Westpac signed up as CA’s banking sponsor, replacing Commonwealth Bank, while NRMA have recently expanded their deal to also encompass the national women’s team. Qantas, KFC and Woolworths have also extended their existing deals.

Last year, speaking about the date of Australia Day, Baird told this masthead that CA needed to steer away from imposing its views on the public as to what choices they could make.

“Certainly, I don’t think Cricket Australia should be prescribing anyone across cricket – volunteers, players, supporters – on how they should respond or act on particular social issues,” Baird had said.

“That ultimately is a matter for each individual. But where we have a history and a connection we’ll continue to play a role.”

In October, CA announced a net deficit of $11.3 million after distributions to the states, following deficits of $31.9 million in 2023-24, $16.9 million in 2022-23, $5.1 million in 2021-22, $151,000 in 2020-21 and $45 million in 2019-20.

CA last recorded a net surplus in 2018-19, when it finished $18.1 million in the black after handing out cash to the states.

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