Pringle was educated at St. Mary's School (Nairobi), Felsted School and Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge. He played for Essex between 1978 and 1993. He was a member of the successful Essex sides of the 1980s and early 1990s, alongside cricketers such as Graham Gooch, Mark Waugh, Nasser Hussain, John Lever and Neil Foster, which in that period won the County Championship six times. As an undergraduate, Pringle played for Cambridge University. In 1982, while captain of the university, he was selected for England Pringle went on to play 30 Tests, the last of which was in 1992, scoring 695 runs and taking 70 wickets. He also played in 44 One-Day Internationals between 1982 and 1993. He appeared in two World Cups and was a member of England's 1992 World Cup Final team.
