Tony Lewis, one half of the Duckworth-Lewis combine, defends the system in a chat with DNA.
Tony Lewis, one half of the Duckworth-Lewis combine, defends the system in a chat with DNA.
Do you feel the D/L method needs to be tweaked for the Twenty20 format?
We have collected a lot of data over the last four years from the increasing number of T20 games being played, including matches from the Indian Premier League. We did a major review of the method last year and the astonishing thing is that, to a large extent, the method seems to work as well in T20s as it does in ODIs. It’s only a few high-profile games that get highlighted…
Like the England-West Indies game…
That match would be a case in point. However, the fact that the revised target (60 off six overs) seemed so gettable was because (Chris) Gayle got West Indies off to a flying start (30 for no loss in 2.2 overs). Had they lost two wickets before the rain interruption, the target would have been 71 as opposed to 60.
But isn’t 71 from six overs with eight wickets in hand still easier to get than 192 from 20 overs with 10 wickets in hand?
There’s been a lot of criticism in the English press today, and before, about the method and its relevance in Twenty20 cricket, but the statistical evidence points to the fact that it works. It’s been used in T20s for four years and it’s only in these few high-profile instances that questions begin to get raised.
There have been alternate suggestions, such as reducing the number of wickets in hand for the team chasing, depending on the number of overs left to bat. Is that something you would support?
I don’t think that would work at all. For starters, how can you rule a certain number of players out of a game altogether? It’s a crude mechanism that would open up a lot of new problems.
As a cricket fan, do you feel a winner in any contest can be picked in five overs?
That is an arguable point. The system worked well in matches reduced to 10 overs, but even a period of 10 overs allows for the natural ups and downs of a game. A five-over contest may not allow teams to get back if they’re on the back foot. It’s a point that needs to be discussed.
As an English cricket supporter, how do you react when your side loses like they did on Monday night?
(Laughs) I am a big fan of the English team and I do sort of feel responsible when they lose on the D/L method. But that’s only on a personal level. On a professional level, I’m happy that the system we’ve devised has served cricket well for so many years. Usually I feel more satisfied than responsible.
You said you’ve collected a lot of data over four years. Can we expect a revised method for T20s in the near future?
Not in the near future. We generally review the data we have collected every two-three years and we did have a major review last year. We will look at the data again at some point and take it from there.
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