DLS Method co-founder Tony Lewis dies

Mathematician Tony Lewis, who co-developed the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern system of calculating target scores in rain-affected limited-overs matches, has died.

Lewis, who passed away at the age of 78, had developed the original Duckworth-Lewis method jointly with Frank Duckworth, which was adopted by the ICC in 1999. After the retirements of Duckworth and Lewis, Steven Stern became the custodian of the method and his name was added to the system in 2014.

Lewis, a graduate in mathematics and statistics from Sheffield University, retired as a lecturer of Quantitative Research Methods from Oxford Brookes University. He was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 2010.

For Zimbabweans the Method will bring back to mind the 2018 ICC World Cup qualifier in Harare. Zimbabwe lost to the UAE by the DLS method at Harare Sports Club in a rain-interrupted tie vanquishing their qualification for the 2019 edition of the world showcase. The fallout after was epic and reverberates in the local game still.