London, Oct 01: Realising that Duckworth/Lewis method in its original form could be "sometimes unrealistic", International Cricket Council (ICC) has decided to introduce its professional edition for all one-day internationals starting with Pakistan and South Africa cricket series in Lahore. The D/L professional edition will ensure fairness to both teams in matches where the side batting first sets an exceptionally high total as Australia did in the ICC cricket World Cup 2003 final setting India a target of 360 to win.
Frank Duckworth, one of the inventors of the method, said, "We have always been aware that when the total set by the team batting first is much greater than average that revised targets and par scores can sometimes seem unrealistic."
"This issue was drawn to wider public attention during the World Cup final when India could have achieved a shock victory," Duckworth was quoted as saying a news agency. Although in this instance, the threat of abandonment never materialised, it helped prompt a move to the D/L professional edition.
"With this system a team aiming at a very high total has to score at much closer to the required rate for most of the chase. This means the tables have to be adjusted to suit the target," Lewis said.
This adjustment cannot be undertaken manually and so the professional edition is entirely computerised, a change that has been endorsed by the ICC's general manager, cricket, David Richardson. "The ICC believes that this change ensures that the system is now more accurate in setting targets in high scoring matches," said Richardson.
"Teams and media will still receive sheets outlining the par score at the interval and after any subsequent rain delays and, where the facilities permit, scoreboards will also show the par score," he said.
"We have had the answer to this problem available for use for several years," explained co-inventor Tony Lewis.
The D/L method of target resetting has been used for all ODI cricket since May 1999 and is widely recognised as a fair way of dealing with interrupted matches.
The tables that are part of the D/L method are based on the average of scoring patterns over many matches.
The existing standard edition of D/L, which can be calculated manually, will still be available for domestic competitions and at grounds where computers are not available. Bureau Report