Sophie Luff

Sophie Luff
Playing for Western Storm, 2017
Personal information
Full name
Sophie Natasha Luff
Born (1993-12-06) 6 December 1993 (age 30)
Taunton, Somerset, England
BattingRight-handed
BowlingRight-arm medium
RoleBatter
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
2009–presentSomerset
2016–2024Western Storm (squad no. 63)
2021Welsh Fire
2022–2023London Spirit
2022/23New South Wales
Career statistics
Competition WLA WT20
Matches 130 154
Runs scored 4,233 2,693
Batting average 42.75 28.34
100s/50s 7/27 0/10
Top score 157* 78
Balls bowled 296 197
Wickets 2 8
Bowling average 130.50 29.75
5 wickets in innings 0 0
10 wickets in match 0 0
Best bowling 1/27 2/12
Catches/stumpings 39/– 46/–
Source: CricketArchive, 19 October 2024

Sophie Natasha Luff (born 6 December 1993) is an English cricketer who plays for Somerset and Southern Brave as a right-handed batter.[1]

Career

Luff came from a cricketing family in Lympsham, near Weston-super-Mare; both her father and brother also play cricket.[2] During her childhood, she played boys cricket with Weston-super-Mare Cricket Club and captained the boys' team at Hugh Sexey’s Middle School; she later also played alongside the boys at The Kings of Wessex Academy.[3] She attracted the attention of both Somerset and England, and represented England schoolgirls and later featured as part of the England academy, captaining both sides during her time with them.[4]

After making her debut in English county cricket in 2009, aged 15, when she scored a duck,[1] Luff maintained a batting average over fifty in 2010 and 2014, and over one hundred in 2015 and 2017.[4] She studied at Cardiff Metropolitan University, gaining a First class honours degree in Sport and Physical Education. During 2015, she scored her maiden County Championship century, reaching 138 not out against Wales,[1] and the Cricket Society named her the "most promising young female cricketer" of 2015.[5]

She joined the Western Storm in the newly formed Women's Cricket Super League in 2016[6] and has featured for them ever since, playing as part of their 2017 winning team, including an unbeaten 30 in the final. According to Jamie Ramage of Women's Criczone, Luff's performances were an "integral part" of Western Storm's success in 2016 and 2017.[7] In early 2018, she was named as Women’s and Girls Performance Head Coach for Somerset Cricket Board.[3]

Luff became captain of Western Storm ahead of the 2020 season.[8] In 2021, she scored 211 runs for Somerset in the 2021 Women's Twenty20 Cup, the fourth-highest in the competition.[9] She captained Welsh Fire in the inaugural season of The Hundred.[10] In the final Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy match of the 2021 season, Luff scored 157* against Sunrisers, her List A high score.[11]

In April 2022, she was signed by the London Spirit for the 2022 season of The Hundred.[12] Luff was the fifth-highest run-scorer in the 2022 Women's Twenty20 Cup, with 239 runs, and the fifth-highest run-scorer in the 2022 Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, with 268 runs.[13][14] She made her Twenty20 high score against Sunrisers in the Charlotte Edwards Cup, scoring 78 from 54 deliveries, as well as hitting 100* against the same opposition in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy.[15][16]

In the winter of 2022–23, Luff played Premier Cricket for Parramatta, and was later signed by New South Wales to play in the Women's National Cricket League.[17] She made her debut for the side on 18 December 2022, against Tasmania.[18]

On 19 September 2024, Luff was announced as the first player given a professional contract with Somerset's new women's team, which was created as part of a restructuring of women's domestic cricket in England and Wales due to start in 2025 and that will see a move away from regional clubs.[19][20]

References

  1. ^ a b c Egan, Syd. "Player profile: Sophie Luff". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  2. ^ "Sophie Luff appointed as Women's and Girls Performance Head Coach". Somerset County Cricket Club. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  3. ^ a b "The face of women's cricket in Somerset". Western Storm. 9 February 2019. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  4. ^ a b Blackmore, Jeremy (11 August 2019). "Sophie Luff: Juggling roles, absorbing pressure and doing it all with a smile". Women's Criczone. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  5. ^ Culley, Jon (31 December 2015). "The Independent's ones to watch in 2016: Tom Curran, Sophie Luff, Josh Onomah and more". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 24 May 2022. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  6. ^ Carpenter, Will (26 April 2016). "CRICKET: Sophie Luff and Jodie Dibble to play for Western Storm in Kia Super League". Bridgwater Mercury. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  7. ^ Ramage, Jamie (18 July 2018). "Western Storm Preview: Storm look to extend legacy". Women's Criczone. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  8. ^ "Sophie Luff to lead Western Storm in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy". Women’s CricZone. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  9. ^ "Batting and Fielding in Vitality Women's County T20 2021 (Ordered by Runs)". CricketArchive. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  10. ^ "Player Profile: Sophie Luff". The Hundred. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  11. ^ "Sophie Luff kicks up a Storm with career-best 157 not out". ESPNCricinfo. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  12. ^ "The Hundred 2022: latest squads as Draft picks revealed". BBC Sport. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
  13. ^ "ECB Women's County Championship/Statistics/Season 2022". Play-Cricket. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  14. ^ "Records/Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, 2022/Most Runs". ESPNCricinfo. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  15. ^ "Sophie Luff leads from the front in thumping Western Storm win". ESPNCricinfo. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  16. ^ "Unbeaten Sophie Luff century breaks Sunrisers' hearts". ESPNCricinfo. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  17. ^ "Breakers squad for Tasmania fixtures". Cricket NSW. 16 December 2022. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
  18. ^ "14th Match, Hobart, December 18 2022, Women's National Cricket League: Tasmania Women v New South Wales Women". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
  19. ^ "Luff goes 'full circle' by signing first Somerset deal". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
  20. ^ "Somerset County Cricket Club women's team signs first player". Chard and Ilminster News. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
Sporting positions
Preceded by Somerset women's cricket captain
2017–2022 		Succeeded by