Russell John Evans

1 October 1965 – 30 November 2017

Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire, Minor Counties. 

Right hand Bat, Right Arm Medium, Umpire. 

Russell Evans made his debut for his native Nottinghamshire playing against Hampshire in the John Player Special League in 1985. It wasn’t until 1987 he made his first-class debut against the touring Pakistanis. He wasn’t able to hold down a regular place for the county in either format, making 6 appearances in each. His best score was a 50 not out in 1988 against the touring Sri Lankans. 

He moved to neighbouring Lincolnshire and between 1993 and 1997 made 33 appearances for them in the Minor Counties Championship and 10 appearances in the MCCA Knockout Trophy. He appeared in 3 List A matches in the NatWest Trophy for the county. During his time with Lincolnshire, Evans made one first-class appearance for the Minor Counties against the 1994 touring South Africans, scoring 59 in the first innings and 30 in the second. In total he made 7 appearances for the team with a highest score of 56 against Durham in the 1996 Benson and Hedges Cup. 
 
 Following retirement Evans took up umpiring, becoming a popular figure on the county circuit. In 2011 he was placed on the ECB’s list of reserve umpires whilst standing in a match each in a Women’s ODI and Women’s T20I. He was promoted to the full list of umpires in 2014 and continued to stand in matches until his untimely passing in 2018. The reverence he was held in as an umpire was shown by comments from the across the English game. Following his passing, a charity was set up in his name to encourage the next generation of umpires.