Thelston Payne: West Indies Wicket Keeper Batsman of 1980s

Thelston Payne was born on February 13, 1957, in Barbados. He played only one Test match and seven one-day internationals for the West Indies. He was usually the second-choice wicketkeeper to Jeff Dujon in the West Indies team but got his Test chance in the 1985–86 series against England in the West Indies when Dujon was injured. He held five catches in the West Indies' seven-wicket win but scored only five runs.

In his seven ODIs, he just scored 120 runs, with the best of 60. He made three consecutive hundreds in 1983 and was good enough to play as a batsman." He was constantly in and out of the team, and he only appeared in two consecutive games in the 1986–87 World Series Cup. That was his second-to-last ODI; his last was against New Zealand two months later, during which he held a catch off Richard Hadlee's bat, but did not get to bat because Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes wrapped up the target without losing a wicket. He was part of the West Indies squad in the World Championship of Cricket in 1985. Payne played first-class cricket from 1978–79 to 1989–90, turning out in 68 first-class matches, mostly for Barbados. Payne died from pancreatic cancer in Bridgetown, on May 10, 2023, at 66. Read More: Roy Gilchrist