Obituary: Frank Duckworth - the pioneering statistician who changed the game forever

Frank Duckworth, who has died at 84, was one half of the team who pioneered the Duckworth-Lewis method for calculating target scores in limited overs cricket matches abridged by bad weather.

Along with his fellow statistician Tony Lewis, Duckworth devised the formula that was officially adopted by the International Cricket Council in 1999 and remains the means by which affected matches are decided to this day.

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Duckworth originally qualified in metallurgy but subsequently studied to become a statistician and introduced a short paper, ‘A fair result in foul weather’ at an RSS conference in Sheffield in 1992.

The paper was directly inspired by the farcical ending to the 1992 World Cup semi-final 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.

Dr Frank Duckworth after he was made a Member of the British Empire (MBE) by the Princess Royal during the investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle.Dr Frank Duckworth after he was made a Member of the British Empire (MBE) by the Princess Royal during the investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle.
Dr Frank Duckworth after he was made a Member of the British Empire (MBE) by the Princess Royal during the investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle.

Duckworth’s lecture led to contact with Lewis, and the pair worked together on a formula which was first used in the second match of England’s one-day series against Zimbabwe in 1999.

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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.

Duckworth’s statistical work also included the creation of an International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale, following the Chernobyl disaster of 1986. He was awarded an MBE in 2010.

He is survived by his wife, Jeannie (nee Shorey) and their daughter.

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