Frank Duckworth, co-inventor of cricket’s DLS Method, passes away

Team Udayavani, Jun 25, 2024, 8:59 PM IST

Frank Duckworth, an English statistician and one of the creators of the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) method for cricket, passed away at the age of 84.

Duckworth, along with Tony Lewis, invented the Duckworth-Lewis method to decide the results of cricket matches affected by rain. It was first used in international cricket in 1997 and became the official method for setting revised targets in 2001.

Later, the method was renamed the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method after Australian statistician Steven Stern made some changes. Both Duckworth and Lewis were honored with MBEs (Member of the Order of the British Empire) in June 2010.

The DLS method uses a detailed statistical analysis, considering factors like wickets left and overs lost, to set a new target for the team batting second.