Frank Duckworth co-inventor of DLS method dies at the age of 84

English statistician and one of the inventors of the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) method, Frank Duckworth died at the age of 84, according to a report. Duckworth passed away on June 21, according to a report in ESPNcricinfo.com.

The Duckworth-Lewis method, devised by Duckworth and fellow statistician Tony Lewis, was introduced to determine results in rain-affected cricket matches. The method 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.

The method was renamed the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method after the retirement of Duckworth and Lewis, followed by some modifications by Australian statistician Steven Stern. Duckworth and Lewis were both awarded MBEs (Member of the Order of the British Empire) in June 2010.

The DLS method is based on a complex statistical analysis that considers many factors like wickets remaining and overs lost, among others, to set a revised target for the team batting second.

Frank Duckworth, one of the inventors of the Duckworth-Lewis (later Duckworth-Lewis-Stern) method to determine results in rain-affected cricket matches, died on June 21 at the age of 84.

The original 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 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 the 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 England and South Africa in Sydney.

Inputs -CrickInfo