Philip Russell (cricketer)

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Philip Russell (born May 9, 1944) was an English cricketer. He was a right-handed batsman and a right-arm off-break bowler, and occasional wicket-keeper who played for Derbyshire between 1965 and 1985.

Russell, who had participated in the Second XI since 1964, made his first-class debut at the back end of the 1965 season, in a victory against bottom-of-the-table Nottinghamshire. Derbyshire scored a comfortable win and Russell saw himself into the first team for the following season. Derbyshire were to score an impressive sixth place in 1967, though Russell was to see less action.

Going into the late '60s, Derbyshire started to struggle, placing second-bottom in the County Championship table of 1969, but, any thoughts of a slump were to prove unfounded as the team were to do well the following season.

Russell played for Derbyshire solidly for another decade, until 1979, and, though he came out of retirement six years later to play briefly in the 1985 competition, as a 41-year-old. Less agile, though supplemented by Derbyshire's Danish wonder, Ole Mortensen, Russell brought no shame upon himself in his later years. Throughout his career, particularly in the later stages, Russell was a mainstay in the Derbyshire tailend. Russell's son, Miles, played cricket for the Derbyshire Second XI in 1991.