By Charwayne Walker
The cricket fraternity in the West Indies and Barbados was saddened recently with the passing of former St. Catherine, Barbados and West Indies wicketkeeper/batsman Thelston Rodney O’ Neale Payne.
The flambouyant left-hander, who made his regional first-class debut with a commanding 97 against Jamaica at Sabina Park in 1979, had come to prominence in 1976 when he made 118 and 53 against the Chris Cowdrey led England Under 19 team that engaged Barbados youths at the Kensington Oval.
Payne, who died in his native Barbados May 7th this year, was Jeffrey Dujon’s understudy on the 1984 tour of England, the 1984/85 tour of Australia, the 1986 tour of Sharjah and Pakistan and the 1986/87 tour of New Zealand and Australia. Payne played his only test against England at the Queen’s Park Oval in 1986. Strange enough that was the venue where Nelson Betancourt in 1930 played his one and only test as West Indies captain and wicketkeeper against England. Betancourt, who captained the West Indies on account of the home team’s policy at that time of having a different Indigenous captain for each match of the series, scored 39 and 13. He was 42 years and 242 days old. Betancourt remains the oldest test debutant for the West Indies. Anguillan and Leeward Islands wicket keeper Jahmar Hamilton has so far played one test for the West Indies and only time will tell if he remains with Betancourt and Payne as the West Indies wicketkeepers, one test wonders.
Following in the list of West Indies Test Wicketkeepers.
Karl Nunes: Jamaica 4 tests: 1928 – 1930.
Errol Hunte: Trinidad & Tobago 3 tests: 1930.
Ivan Barrow: Jamaica 11 tests: 1930 – 1939.
Cyril Christiani, British Guiana: 4 tests: 1935.
Derek Sealy: Barbados and Trinidad & Tobago: 11 tests,
1930 – 1939.
Sammy Guillien: Trinidad & Tobago: 5 tests, 1951-1956.
Alfred Binns: Jamaica: 5 tests, 1953 – 1956.
Ralph Legall: Trinidad & Tobago: 4 tests, 1953.
Clifford Mc Watt: British Guiana: 6 tests, 1954 – 1955.
Clairmont Depeiaza: Barbados: 5 tests, 1955 – 1956.
Gerry Alexander: Jamaica: 25 tests, 1957 – 1961.
Jackie Hendriks: Jamaica: 20 tests, 1962 – 1969.
Ivor Mendonca: British Guiana: 2 tests, 1962.
David Allan: Barbados: 5 tests, 1962 – 1966.
Deryck Murray: Trinidad & Tobago: 62 tests, 1963 – 1980.
Mike Findlay: Windward Islands: 10 tests, 1969 – 1973.
Desmond Lewis: Jamaica: 3 tests, 1971.
David Murray: Barbados: 19 tests, 1978 – 1982.
Jeffrey Dujon: Jamaica: 81 tests, 1981 – 1991.
Thelston Payne: Barbados: 1 test, 1981 – 1991.
David Williams: Trinidad & Tobago: 33 tests, 1992 – 2002.
Junior Murray: Trinidad & Tobago: 33 tests, 1993 -2002.
Courtney Browne: Barbados: 20 tests, 1995 – 2005.
Ridley Jacobs: Leeward Islands: 65 tests, 1998 – 2004.
Carlton Baugh Jr.: Jamaica: 21 tests, 2003 – 2012.
Denesh Ramdin: Trinidad & Tobago: 74 tests, 2005 – 2016.
Chadwick Walton: Jamaica: 2 tests, 2009.
Shane Dowrich: Barbados: 35 tests, 2016 – 2020.
Shai Hope: Barbados: 2 tests, 2016 – 2019.
Jahmar Hamilton: Leeward Islands 1 test, 2019.
Joshua Da Silva: Trinidad & Tobago: 22 tests, 2020 to present.
