Wisden overview
Wicketkeepers are often eccentric, but Russell outquirks the lot. Whether he is standing up to the medium-pacers, barking encouragement to his fielders or leaving the ball with a gratuitous flourish, Russell is the character's character. As a keeper he is quick-witted and quick-handed, if sometimes untidy. As a No.7 batsman he is unorthodox but resolute - his unbeaten 29 in 277 minutes at Johannesburg in 1995-96 is often forgotten. England messed him about, often preferring Alec Stewart for the sake of balance, but after retiring from internationals in 1998, Russell reinvented himself as the hub of Gloucestershire's one-day successes. A painter and a tea addict, forever glued to his battered sunhat, he is anything but a sportsman of his age. Lawrence Booth

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