"It is with much sadness that the ECB has learned of the passing of Tony Lewis MBE, aged 78," said a statement.
When Duckworth-Lewis method first adopted by ICC
Tony, alongside fellow mathematician Frank Duckworth, devised the Duckworth-Lewis method which was introduced in 1997 and adopted officially by the ICC (International Cricket Council) in 1999.
D/L method renamed to Duckworth-Lewis-Stern in 2014
Renamed the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern Method in 2014, the mathematical formula continues to be used in rain reduced limited overs cricket games across the globe.
So, Lewis was a cricketer?
A career academic, and not the Welshman of the same name who captained England, Lewis received an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) for his services to cricket and mathematics in 2010.
How DLS method came to existence?
"Cricket is deeply indebted to both Tony and Frank's contributions to the sport," the ECB said in a statement.
"We send our sincere condolences to Tony's family." The formula came about in response to the extraordinary climax of a rain-interrupted 1992 World Cup semi-final in Sydney.
The method then in use was based on removing the lowest-scoring overs from each team's innings.
But it produced a farcical finish to a showpiece semi-final when South Africa, who had faced the challenging but achievable target of 22 runs off 13 balls to beat England, were left with the impossible task of scoring 21 runs off one ball after a rain delay.
Duckworth of ‘DLS method’ on how he devised the idea
Duckworth, the more outspoken of the founding duo -- fellow statistician Steven Stern helped revise the formula several years later -- said: "I recall hearing (commentator) Christopher Martin-Jenkins on radio saying 'surely someone, somewhere could come up with something better' and I soon realised that it was a mathematical problem that required a mathematical solution."
Difference between D/L method and previous methods
The big difference between Duckworth-Lewis and previous methods was that it gave credit to sides defending a target for taking wickets as well as chasing sides for scoring runs.
Significantly, this meant the target could be adjusted proportionately in the event of more than one stoppage.
An enduring criticism of the system is that it is difficult to understand without having access to a chart that shows where teams need to be over by over, for however many wickets they have lost.
But the sight of a D/L target soon became a familiar feature on cricket scoreboards around the world.
Several sides, however, have still confused the target needed to tie with the total they require to win, with co-hosts South Africa being knocked out of the 2003 World Cup when they made this mistake against Sri Lanka in Durban.
The formula has also been criticised for not being suited to Twenty20 matches, cricket's shortest format, which came into being after Duckworth-Lewis was established.
No alternative method, however, has yet found favour with the ICC.
To read the full story, Subscribe Now at just Rs 249 a month
Already a subscriber? Log in
Subscribe To BS Premium
₹249
Renews automatically
₹1699₹1999
Opt for auto renewal and save Rs. 300 Renews automatically
₹1999
What you get on BS Premium?
-
Unlock 30+ premium stories daily hand-picked by our editors, across devices on browser and app.
-
Pick your 5 favourite companies, get a daily email with all news updates on them.
Full access to our intuitive epaper - clip, save, share articles from any device; newspaper archives from 2006.
Preferential invites to Business Standard events.
Curated newsletters on markets, personal finance, policy & politics, start-ups, technology, and more.
Need More Information - write to us at assist@bsmail.in