Frank Duckworth, an English statistician who co-created the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) method, passed away at 84 years old, PTI quoted a report on ESPNcricinfo.com. Duckworth’s death occurred on June 21.

Alongside fellow statistician Tony Lewis, Duckworth developed the Duckworth-Lewis method to determine outcomes in cricket matches affected by rain.

The method was first employed in international cricket in 1997 and was officially recognized by the ICC as the standard approach for establishing revised targets in shortened games in 2001.

After the retirement of Duckworth and Lewis, the method underwent some adjustments by Australian statistician Steven Stern and was subsequently renamed the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method.

In recognition of their contributions, both Duckworth and Lewis were honored with MBEs (Member of the Order of the British Empire) in June 2010.

The DLS method relies on a sophisticated statistical analysis that takes into account various factors, including the number of wickets remaining and overs lost, to determine a revised target for the team batting second.