His 2,432 runs was third-highest in the country behind Hobbs and Hendren and he was an automatic choice for that winter's Ashes tour.

1922 was Russell's finest season: his 2,575 runs was a personal best and placed him ahead of Hobbs as the leading run-scorer in the country.

That winter, Russell went to South Africa and on the biting matting pitches achieved his finest performance with 436 runs for an average of almost 63.

[3] However, illness severely affected Russell's performance in 1923: only after a rest of two weeks in late June did he recover his form, and his average fell from 52 to 29.71.

After an injury-affected year in 1929, Russell only played one more season before retiring to become county coach and later a groundsman.