Frank Duckworth, co-inventor of DLS method, dies at the age of 84
English statistician developed the DL method with Tony Lewis and it was first used in international cricket in 1997
ESPNcricinfo staff
25-Jun-2024 • 8 mins ago
Frank Duckworth: 1939-2024 • Getty Images
Frank Duckworth, one of the inventors of the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method to determine results in rain-affected cricket matches, died on June 21 at the age of 84.
The Duckworth-Lewis method, devised by English statisticians Duckworth and Tony Lewis, was first used in international cricket in 1997 and was formally adopted by the ICC as the standard method for setting revised targets in truncated games in 2001. In 2014, it was renamed the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method after the retirement of Duckworth and Lewis and modifications made to the system by Australian statistician Steven Stern.
Duckworth and Lewis were both awarded MBEs in June 2010.
The DL method replaced the rain-rule that was used previously to calculate targets in interrupted matches, most infamously during the 1992 ODI World Cup semi-final between South Africa and England in Sydney.
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