Sophie enjoying her time Down Under
Western Storm and Somerset Captain, Sophie Luff is spending the winter in Australia.
Sophie, who celebrated her 29th birthday this week, is playing for Parramatta CC and has made an instant impact. An outstanding knock of 101 not out against Sydney recently saw her side take the top spot in the competition table.
We caught up with Sophie to see how she’s settling in.
“I’ve been here for just over a month and I’m settling in nicely,” she explained. “We’ve played some good cricket since I arrived and it’s a great bunch of girls. The people here are brilliant and it’s a great club to be involved with. I’m really enjoying it and I like the fact that we’re playing a variety of T20 and 50-over cricket.”
“I feel like I’m playing pretty well at the moment and I’m enjoying batting in the sunshine. We’re playing on some pretty good wickets and I feel like I’m playing with a little more freedom out here. I don’t have the responsibility of captaincy and I’m here to score some runs and to pass on some of my experience and advice to the young girls at Parramatta. It’s a young team and I’ve got about 10 years on a lot of them!”
How important for player development is it to be spending time overseas?
“The biggest thing for me is to be getting some game time over the winter. I feel like I’ve had two good winters at home since turning pro, developing my skills in the nets, but you want to be out in the middle scoring runs and finding new ways to do that. I want to be adapting game by game. I don’t really know any of the players out here whereas back home you’re coming up against the same players week in, week out. Out here I’m adapting to each ball as it’s coming at me and coming up with a plan on the spot. It’s a case of picking the right tools at the right time and that’s the challenge for me out here.
“I’ve been lucky enough to be training with New South Wales Breakers as well. They’re a great bunch of girls too and a lot of them are coming off the back of the Big Bash. It’s been great to get to know some of those girls and the coaches.”
With the women’s game developing in the way that it is, do you think we will start seeing more players spending their winters abroad?
“Being overseas in the winter is a great opportunity for anyone who wants to develop their game. There will be players who are at different stages of their career and they’ll be looking to develop in different ways. I’m 29 now and I’m out here to get some game time and stretch myself. It’s taken me out of my comfort zone a bit because I’ve never been away for this length of time before. Also, there’s a bit of pressure on me as an overseas pro. Some of the younger players who come over for the winter will be using it as a life experience as well as working on their skills. This is the first time since we’ve turned professional that players have been able to do something like this because of Covid, and I think a lot more players will be wanting to do it over the next few years. There are a few English girls in Sydney and there’s a few in Melbourne too.”
What’s it like being an English player Down Under ahead of an Ashes summer?
“It’s been pretty friendly if I’m honest. I’ve been pleasantly surprised. They haven’t really ripped into me too much.”
Sophie is also looking forward to the 2023 season with Western Storm.
“It’s going to be a busy summer,” she said. “But we want to be playing cricket as often as we can. It didn’t seem like there were enough fixtures last year, even with The Hundred, so to have doubled the fixtures in the Rachael Heyhoe-Flint Trophy is a really positive move. What I like about it is that they are prioritising the 50-over competition at a time when formats seem to be getting shorter and shorter. 50-over cricket gives players the opportunity to really learn their craft. It’s very different to T20 cricket because you have to work harder, be more patient and do things for a longer period of time. That’s what I enjoy about it.
“I don’t want to wish my time out here away, but I’m really looking forward to joining up with Western Storm again in March for preseason. Hopefully, we can hit the ground running and win that first fixture up at Headingley.”
Parramatta images courtesy of Jazz Chalouhi
