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Co-inventor of DLS method, dies

Published

12 months ago

June 26, 2024

editor

Frank Duckworth, the man whose mathematical knowledge helped to revolutionise rain-affected cricket, has died aged 84.

The Lytham-born statistician created the Duckworth-Lewis method, a model to recalculate scores when limited-over matches were curtailed by weather conditions, with fellow Lancastrian Tony Lewis.

Announcing Duckworth’s death, fellow statistician Rob Eastaway said he had been “a very genial man” who was “proud” of the method, despite it leaving casual fans somewhat flummoxed.

“A lot of people either claim they don’t understand it or don’t like it, but they know deep down, it is the best way of working,” he said.

The former King Edward VII School Lytham student and University of Liverpool graduate spent his entire career working in the nuclear industry.

Originally employed as a metallurgist, he found he had an ability to extract useful information from masses of numerical measurements.

A course in statistics followed and he later became a statistician, being elected as a fellow of the Royal Statistical Society in 1974.

The formula has become a part of cricket folklore

At the society’s conference in 1992, he presented a short paper which proposed a formula for target correction in rain interrupted one-day cricket matches.

This led him to meet Lewis, a mathematics lecturer, who suggested an analysis of one-day score sheets based on Duckworth’s proposed formula.

Their method was devised in the wake of a farcical Cricket World Cup semi-final between England and South Africa in 1992.

Rain stopped play with South Africa needing 22 runs from 13 balls, but on resumption, the then-method of recalculation, which was based on productive overs, saw them requiring an almost impossible 22 runs off one delivery.

Speaking in 2007, Duckworth, who lived in Gloucestershire, said he recalled hearing BBC Test Match Special commentator Christopher Martin-Jenkins “on the radio, saying ‘surely someone, somewhere, could come up with something better'”.

“I realised that it was a mathematical problem that required a mathematical solution,” he said.

The subsequent Duckworth-Lewis method was first used in the ICC Trophy in Malaysia in 1997 and in 1998, it was applied in New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan, India and West Indies.

The International Cricket Council adopted the method for the 1999 World Cup in England and it was adopted on a trial basis for all cricket by the ICC in 2001 before becoming the permanent solution three years later.

It is now known as the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method after Australian statistician Prof Steven Stern became the custodian of the method following his predecessors’ retirement.

Stern updated the method in 2014 to take into account modern scoring trends and T20 cricket.

The method was used as recently as Monday in the rain-affected World Cup match between Afghanistan and Bangladesh.

The Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method was called into action at the T20 World Cup on Monday

Duckworth received an honorary doctorate from the University of Bath in 2015.

In the citation, it said he had been as important to the nuclear industry as he had been to cricket.

“He came to realise the importance of statistics, not just to ensure reactor safety but also to assure the public that the reactors are safe,” it said.

“At that time, there were no statisticians working at the laboratories, so he set about making himself into a statistician.

“Then he had to convince his colleagues and others of the power of statistics, and spreading that idea has been at the core of everything he has done since.

“Persuading the cricket administrators that statistics could help them was just another example of that.”

Mr Eastaway said while the statistician had been a powerhouse when it came to numbers, he also had a lighter side.

“When Tony Lewis died in 2020, he phoned to tell me that people thought he was already dead,” he said.

“They were like a comedy double act.

“Lewis was the straight man and Frank was very jovial.”

(BBC News)

News

3 dead in Dunhinda bus accident

Published

2 hours ago

June 21, 2025

editor

Three persons have died from the bus accident at Dunhinda in Badulla today (June 21), according to hospital sources.

A total of 34 individuals were injured when the bus toppled down a precipice this evening (June 21) at the 4th Mile Post area, near the Dunhinda bends on the Badulla–Mahiyanganaya road.

According to reports, the passengers were a group of pilgrims travelling from Badulla to Anuradhapura.

The injured persons have been admitted to the Badulla General Hospital.

Police are conducting further investigations.

(Pic : Accident1st)

News

11th International Day of Yoga celebrated in Colombo (Pics)

Published

2 hours ago

June 21, 2025

editor

The 11th International Day of Yoga (IDY) was celebrated with great enthusiasm by the High Commission of India in Colombo and its cultural arm, the Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre (SVCC) in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government Sri Lanka at the historic Independence Square in Colombo today (June 21).

This year’s theme, “Yoga for One Earth, One Health”, highlighted the universal relevance of yoga in fostering harmony between humans and nature.

The High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka, H.E. Santosh Jha, joined the celebrations along with distinguished guests including Minister of Science and Technology – Dr. Chrishantha Abeysena, Minister of Labour and the Deputy Minister of Economic Development – Prof. Anil Jayantha Fernando, Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka – Dr. Rizvie Salih, Deputy Minister of Defence – Major General K. P. Aruna Jayasekara, Deputy Minister of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs – Gamagedara Dissanayake Deputy Minister of Sports – Sugath Thilakaratna, and other senior dignitaries.
The event began with a spiritual invocation through prayers by Most Ven. Dr. Maitipe Wimalasara Nayaka Thera and the Maha Sangha, who offered blessings for peace and well-being. A dynamic and refreshing yoga and meditation session followed, conducted by experts from renowned yoga institutions in India and Sri Lanka. The event brought together hundreds of yoga enthusiasts, dignitaries, and students in a shared spirit of wellness and unity. As part of the celebrations, a specially curated Yoga Pendrive and a Sinhala translation of the Hatha Yoga Pradeepika were launched, aiming to make authentic yoga knowledge more accessible. Complementing the main event in Colombo, the Consulates in Hambantota and Jaffna, along with the Assistant High Commission in Kandy, also organized special events – reflecting the enthusiastic and widespread participation in the 11th International Day of Yoga across Sri Lanka.

In a significant prelude to the main event, the Department of Ayurveda, Ministry of Health, Government of Sri Lanka and Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre jointly organized a landmark, island-wide celebration of the International Day of Yoga on 19 June 2025, with simultaneous yoga sessions held in 113 Ayurveda hospitals and four universities across all nine provinces – marking the first time such a nationwide initiative has been undertaken in Sri Lanka in a unified fashion.
It may be recalled that the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution piloted by India in 2014, proclaiming June 21 each year as the International Day of Yoga. The resolution was supported by more than 170 countries, with Sri Lanka being one of its proud co-sponsors.

News

Mathews bows out of Test cricket

Published

2 hours ago

June 21, 2025

editor

Angelo Mathews ended his final Test innings today (June 21) after being dismissed during the Test match between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh at Galle International Stadium.

Mathews was dismissed after scoring just 8 runs off 45 balls after being caught by Mominul Haque. The match also ended as a draw.

Mathews retires from the longest format of the game as he made 8,214 runs from 119 Tests at an average of 44.4, with 16 centuries and 49 half-centuries to his name.

In 2013, Angelo Mathews was handed the leadership of the Test side for the first time in his career. He also became historic as the youngest Sri Lanka player to become Test captain.