Sophie Luff on Christmas in Australia, grade cricket and being an overseas pro
"It's hot and there's Christmas trees and all these decorations going up, it feels a bit weird."
West country stalwart Sophie Luff is not spending this festive period in Lympsham, Somerset. Instead, she is more than 10,000 miles away in Parramatta, Sydney experiencing her first winter in Australia.
A self-confessed "home bird", Luff has made quite the name for herself as one of the most recognisable and reliable cricketers on the domestic circuit.
29-year-old has scored in excess of 5,000 List A and Twenty20 runs, with most of those coming for Somerset and Western Storm in England.
But as the women's game becomes increasingly professionalised, the opportunity to spend time in new environments abroad becomes both an attractive and available option for many players.
"It was never anything I really considered," Luff confesses.
"I feel like I've had two really good winters since coming into the professional world where I've had a shift in my game, developed a lot more options and taken my game to a different level which I've had to do because the game is developing very quickly.
"But now I'm a full-time professional, it's my job to play cricket all year round so for me this is a step to challenge myself in a different environment and in a different role."
Settling into Sydney life, Luff has already banked her first century for Parramatta District cricket club in grade cricket. She scored an unbeaten 101* in a win that saw Parramatta leapfrog Sydney to top spot.
"There's a bit of pressure on me being an overseas pro," says Luff. "I know my record speaks for itself, but no-one knows me out here.
"One of the girls said she was Googling me before I came over and she saw I was holding a cricket bat so she just presumed I must be OK, which made me laugh."
While playing in different conditions is the obvious difference and advantage of spending time overseas, Luff says the real benefit is facing different players. 
"At home, women's cricket is such a small pool, everyone knows everyone," says Luff. "It's like you've almost already played the game before you've turned up because you know exactly what bowlers you're going to face.
"Whereas here, I don't really know anyone or what they're going to bowl, who fields where, whether they've got a good arm.
"I'm having to adapt during the game ball by ball, on the spot. It's been refreshing to have to strip things down and play each ball on its merit and find a plan there and then."
Luff is also training with New South Wales Breakers alongside The Blaze's Kirstie Gordon.
"I didn't know we were both going to be here at the same time so that's been a nice surprise to have another Pom out here," she adds.
"I've always played against Kirstie and now we're in training together and we're helping each other which is weird, because when we go back to England, we're going to be playing against each other again. But it's all about everyone developing and trying to get as good as they can be.
"We're still getting elite training at a very good level - the cricket centre in New South Wales is unbelievable, it's ridiculous. There are 18 indoor lanes, there's going to be 40 turf wickets out the back, they've got a pitch out the front, gym, recovery pools, you name it they've got it. It's a different world."
Luff recognises there is a growing opportunity for an exchange programme to strengthen players in Australia and England. 
"I came over here as an older, more experienced player who hasn't done this sort of thing before but for some of our younger regional players I see it as an opportunity for them to get life experience," says Luff.
"It's more well-rounded than just the cricket that they'd be here for. 
"But there's an element of trust needed with that. If teams are going to send young professionals across the world for five or six months there's got to be a good relationship.
"I'd like to think there could be relationships built between the state teams out here and the regional domestic teams at home.
"It would be great if there was something set up where some of the NSW Breaker girls could come and compete in our domestic competition which would obviously increase the standard of that. I could see it being a two-way thing moving forwards."
And outside of cricket? 
"I could easily get used to the lifestyle here," laughs Luff.
"My day is usually planned out and then depending on what I've got on the question is where I can get a coffee in and where are we going to go. Kirstie [Gordon] has a list of different places she wants to hit up, so I think I'm being roped into a few of those."