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."
We are so sad to hear of the passing of Frank Duckworth MBE, co-inventor of the Duckworth-Lewis method for cricket and a much loved RSS fellow.
— Royal Statistical Society (@RoyalStatSoc) June 25, 2024
Editor of RSS News for 20 years and recipient of our Chambers Medal, he will be greatly missed. https://t.co/DlDr15Aq12 pic.twitter.com/U93Y9qjhSP
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 semifinal 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.
RIP Frank Duckworth. Your ingenuity did help teams avoid this scenario in the 1992 World Cup in Australia. #DLS https://t.co/PL1A9ffaYl pic.twitter.com/fTV9lreGjn
— PRASHANT KESHWAIN 🏏 (@pkeshwain) June 25, 2024
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.