John Somerville Russel (19 March 1849 – 12 September 1902) was a Scottish first-class cricketer. The son of Alexander Russel of The Scotsman, he was born in March 1849 at Edinburgh in, where he was educated at the Royal High School. Russel had a long association with Lord's in London, first playing there in 1870 while assisting the north of Ireland, though it is unclear what qualified him to play for an Irish based team. He made his debut in first-class cricket for the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) against Yorkshire at Scarborough in 1875. Russel's playing association with the MCC lasted until 1891, with him appearing in 74 first-class matches for the club. Described by Wisden as an "excellent batsman when at his best" though his "style was not attractive", Russel scored 1,547 runs for the