Larwood and Voce are reborn in the Trent Bridge pace attack of 2026

Born in the first decade of the century, these two fast bowlers would become the most feared opening pair in county cricket, whether playing at their home at Trent Bridge or indeed at any of their opponents’ grounds around the country. 

One of them, tall, left armed, quick and expert at drawing the batter’s outside edge with the away swinger, or taking out their off stump with the inswinger. The other, shorter, but quicker, a slingy action generating tremendous pace whilst being unerringly accurate, demolishing the stumps of countless batters.

Their finest season saw them lead Nottinghamshire to domestic silverware in the 20s in what is surely seen as the golden age of cricket at Trent Bridge.

Any idea who I’m talking about?

The obvious answer for any cricket historian would be Harold Larwood (born in 1904) and Bill Voce (born 1909), who led Nottinghamshire’s men to the County Championship of 1929, taking 187 wickets between them. The two would famously spearhead England’s successful bowling attack in 1932-33, when Douglas Jardine’s team reclaimed the Ashes, using tactics that Australians are still whinging about to this day.

However, I could just as easily be talking about two other players. Grace Ballinger (born 2002) and Charley Phillips (born 2003) have this season done for the Blaze what Larwood and Voce did for Nottinghamshire’s men 97 summers ago. And they have helped deliver not just one piece of silverware, but three.

The comparisons are obvious. One tall and left-armed, one shorter and right armed. One threatening the batter with seam movement, one with pace and accuracy.

Between them, Ballinger and Phillips have taken 101 wickets during the English summer of 2026. Phillips has taken 50 and Ballinger 51.

In the One Day Cup, it was Phillips who impressed the most. Her 29 wickets had her second in the leading wicket takers across the competition. Her bowling average of 15.75 and her economy rate of 3.75 runs per over were unsurpassed by any other player. 

What strikes you immediately about her is her ability to hit the stumps. A large proportion of her dismissals are either bowled or LBW. She bowls both in the powerplay and at the death. Her statement game at the start of the season was at Chester-le-Street on 2^nd May.

In her first four overs, she dismissed Emma Marlow (caught behind), then Hollie Armitage (bowled) and Tahlia Wilson (LBW), before returning to clean bowl Bess Heath and Sophia Turner and claim a five-for. This was an important match for Phillips as two games previously, she had been dropped from the starting XI for the trip to Chelmsford to make way for Nat Sciver-Brunt. Such a selection now seems unthinkable.

Phillips’ route to the top has been a circuitous one. Brought up in Reading, she played for Sonning Cricket Club and Hertfordshire before securing her first professional contract with Sunrisers in 2024. She remained on the fringes of the Essex-based regional team for that season, before securing a loan move to the Blaze in September 2024, which became a two-year contract with the Nottinghamshire side.

In 2025, she played only six games in the One Day Cup, taking three wickets and two games in the Blast, taking two wickets. So her success in 2026 has been somewhat unexpected, but illustrates well the sense that player development is rarely linear.

Grace Ballinger, whilst also impressing with her 24 wickets in the One Day Cup, really shone in the Blast, taking 20 wickets as the Blaze stormed to the title. A year older than Phillips, she has been on everyone’s cricketing radar since playing for Lightning during the regional era whilst completing her degree in English Literature at Loughborough University.

She has been one of the leading bowlers in county cricket for the last three years, whilst also being a leading player in the Hundred for London Spirit, Northern Superchargers and now Manchester Supergiants. Whilst not as economical as Phillips, her wicket-taking in the short form of the game was a crucial element in the Blaze’s success this season, most notably taking the crucial wickets of Danni Wyatt-Hodge in the semi-final and Hollie Armitage in the final of that competition.

So as The Blaze become Nottinghamshire, they are already replicating the rich history of Trent Bridge in their phenomenal opening bowlers. And who is to say whether in the future there will be two pubs serving drinks at Trent Bridge: The Larwood and Voce at one end of the ground and the Ballinger and Phillips at the other.