Tony Lewis of DLS method passes away at 78

Tony Lewis, one of the men behind the famous Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) method in cricket, has passed away at the age of 78. The news of his passing away was confirmed by the England and Wales Cricket Board via a statement. 

"It is with much sadness that the ECB has learned of the passing of Tony Lewis MBE, aged 78," said a statement.

A mathematician in his trade, Lewis invented the then Duckworth-Lewis method in 1997 along with fellow mathemetician Frank Duckworth. It was officially adopted by the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 1999. 

The method was renamed to Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method in 2014 and is still used as the prime option to calculate targets and the fate of limited-overs matches after rain plays spoilsport. 

Lewis was a career academic and had received a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for his contributions towards cricket in 2010. 

The DLS method is the only system thus far in cricket which recognizes wickets picked up by the defending team as well as runs scored by the chasing team. Even though there have been some criticisms of the method in recent times, ICC is yet to find anything better than the DLS method to replace it. 

Miscalculations in the DLS method by teams have often lead to a catastrophe like South Africa in the 2003 Cricket World Cup. Their miscalculation led to them being knocked out on home soil by Sri Lanka.

Thus, DLS has become a part and parcel of limited-overs cricket and is likely to be so until finds a better method.