Luff goes 'full circle' by signing first Somerset deal

Sophie Luff captained Western Storm and played in their final-ever match this month

Sophie Luff said it feels like a "full circle" moment to be the first player given a professional contract with Somerset's new women's team for 2025.

Somerset will be one of eight counties given Tier 1 status as part of major reforms to the women's game next season.

Luff came through the Somerset pathway and had played with Western Storm since the club was launched in 2016, playing in their first and last-ever fixtures.

"It feels like a full circle moment, I started my cricket journey here when I was 12," Luff told BBC Radio Somerset.

"To come back here to sign my first professional contract feels amazing.

"As a Somerset girl through and through, the opportunity to play here full-time was too good an opportunity to turn down."

Taunton-born Luff, who was captain at Western Storm, said her former side was likely to be a "core" part of the new-look Somerset team.

"We're probably trying to keep a core group together, you'll probably see that across the game country wise - a lot of allegiance with their regions. They'll be going across to those county clubs which makes sense."

The eight counties next year, which also includes Durham, Essex, Hampshire, Lancashire, Nottinghamshire, Surrey and Warwickshire, will all compete in the top domestic competitions in the women's game.

Luff said work was ongoing at Somerset's County Ground in Taunton, including to the changing rooms and gym facilities, to be ready for another club set-up within its walls.

"I can't imagine it's going to be plain sailing; you're dropping a whole new professional team on a club that's already got a professional team to service," Luff said.

"You might have to rough and tumble it for a while but Somerset have made some really good intentions and I think the girls will feel at home here and that's the main thing."