Russell Evans died in hospital of complications following a routine medical procedure on 30 November 2017, aged 52. Educated at Col Frank Seely Comprehensive School in his native village of Calverton, he made his Notts 2nd XI debut in 1983 and joined his elder brother, Kevin, on the Notts Ground Staff in 1985. As a right-hand middle order batsman and occasional bowler, he played in six First-Class matches for Notts and in six Sunday League games. His career in top class cricket effectively ended in 1989 when he suffered a serious back injury. He left the Notts staff in 1990, but three years later he joined Lincolnshire, achieving immediate outstanding success with 819 runs average 91.00 and being awarded the Wilfred Rhodes Trophy. During five seasons with Lincolnshire he hit 2,313 runs, average 53.79; he also played in several Minor Counties representative matches.
In 2011 he joined the reserve list of First-Class umpires, being raised to the full list in 2015. Evans was a partner in the firm manufacturing ‘B3’ cricket bats, being a joint founder of the firm in 2012.
March 2020
Nottinghamshire First-Class Number: 504