Frank Duckworth (left) and Tony Lewis (1942 - 2020) the inventors of the Duckworth-Lewis method on March 25, 2003 at the County Ground in Northampton, England. (Photo by Dave Rogers/Getty Images)
Frank Duckworth, one half of the team who pioneered the Duckworth-Lewis method for calculating target scores in limited-overs cricket hit by bad weather, has died at the age of 84.
Along with his fellow statistician Tony Lewis, Duckworth devised the formula that was officially adopted by the International Cricket Council in 1999.
The London-based Royal Statistical Society said in a statement: “Frank will be remembered largely for his contributions to the Society as editor of RSS NEWS, and to cricket as the co-inventor of the Duckworth-Lewis method.”
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Duckworth introduced a short paper, “A fair result in foul weather” at an RSS conference in 1992.
The paper was directly inspired by the farcical ending to the 1992 World Cup semi-final between England and South Africa in Australia, when a short spell of rain played havoc with calculations and left South Africa targeting an impossible 22 runs off one ball.
Duckworth’s lecture led to contact with Lewis, and the pair worked together on a formula that was first used in the second match of England’s one-day series against Zimbabwe in 1999.
The method was renamed the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method following the retirement of Duckworth and Lewis, after it was slightly modified by Australian statistician Steven Stern.
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“I’m sad to report that Frank Duckworth MBE, co-creator of the Duckworth-Lewis method for adjusting targets in rain-affected cricket matches, passed away last Friday,” said cricket commentator Rob Eastaway.
“His method was used just yesterday in the rain-affected World Cup match between Afghanistan and Bangladesh. RIP.”
“Frank was a top statistician who was respected by peers as well as the wider cricket fraternity,’ the ICC’s Wasim Kahn told nine.com.
“The DLS method that he co-created has stood the test of time and we have continued to use it in international cricket more than two decades after its inception.
Geelong Advertiser reported the London-based Royal Statistical Society as saying: “Frank will be remembered largely for his contributions to the Society as editor of RSS NEWS, and to cricket as the co-inventor of the Duckworth-Lewis method.”
© Agence France-Presse
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