Duckworth-Lewis honoured by British empire

London:

The inventors of the much-criticised and often baffling Duckworth/Lewis system for deciding weather-hit cricket matches are all set to be honoured with MBEs by the Queen of England.

Frank Duckworth and Tony Lewis, the two university statisticians who devised the complex system which is used to set revised targets in rain-truncated matches, are among those from the world of sport honoured in the Queen's Birthday List.

The duo will be made Members of the British Empire (MBE) and are thrilled.

"I hope this award demonstrates to the outside world that the country believes we have made a useful contribution to the game - a lot of people haven't actually realised that we are actual people," said Duckworth, one half of the team that devised the system which has been in use since 1996.

"It's also nice that the citation mentions services to maths and statistics and that we have made a contribution to their public profile," he was quoted as saying by 'The Press Association'.

Lewis said the award shows that the system, which has often been criticised as too complex by players, is an innovation of use.

"I was thrilled to get the news and it's very satisfying that our solution to the rain-interruption problem in one-day cricket has been recognised in this way," he said.