ICC expresses sadness at the passing of Frank Duckworth

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has expressed its sorrow at the death of Frank Duckworth, co-creator of the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) method that is used for regulating targets in weather-affected limited-overs games. Duckworth, 84, who was a consultant statistician with the ICC until 2014, passed on Friday.

ICC General Manager – Cricket Operations, Wasim Khan, condoled Duckworth’s death and acknowledged his contribution to the game.

Wasim Khan: “Frank was a top statistician who was respected by peers as well as the wider cricket fraternity. 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.

“Frank’s contribution to the game has been immense and the world of cricket is poorer with his death. We send our condolences to his family and friends.”

Duckworth was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 2010.

"I hope this award demonstrates to the outside world that the country believes we have made a useful contribution to the game - a lot of people haven't actually realized we are actual people. I was thrilled to get the news and it's very satisfying that our solution to the rain-interruption problem on one-day cricket has been recognised in this way" Duckworth had said after receiving the award as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

The DLS system continues to be in use to date with crucial results being evaluated with the help of the same as and when the possibility of full and regular game is slim. Even during the latest fixture of the T20 World Cup 2024, Afghanistan got the better of Bangladesh by 8  runs through DLS and made it to the semi-final of the ICC event for the first time in history. Notably, the match was hit by rain.