CRICKET NEWS:THERE COULD be no more symbolic example of India's challenge to surpass England in every aspect of cricket's world order. Now they are even seeking to overturn the Duckworth-Lewis method, the Lancastrian system of determining the result of matches in which rain stops play.
For the past 12 years the International Cricket Council, the game’s global governing body, has used D/L, which was developed over the previous decade by Tony Lewis of Bolton and Frank Duckworth of Lytham St Annes in response to a farcical climax to England’s World Cup semi-final against South Africa in Sydney in 1992. Its charts and tables have become closely associated with the idiosyncratic and occasionally impenetrable nature of the game, and even inspired an eponymous 2009 album, The Duckworth Lewis Method, by a band formed by the former Divine Comedy singer Neil Hannon and Thomas Walsh.
But at the meeting of the ICC’s cricket committee which starts today at Lord’s an alternative, the VJD system, will be considered for the first time. It has been named after its creator, V Jayadevan, an Indian engineer from Kerala.
“This is the best chance for my system because after a long time the ICC is going to review the D/L method,” he told India’s Mail Today. “Although I won’t be present at the meeting . . . I’ve clearly pointed out the mathematical and statistical flaws in D/L method and the superiority of the VJD system in the same circumstances of a match.”
Jayadevan claims to have an assurance from Dave Richardson, the ICC’s cricket manager, that his proposal will be given a fair hearing. It has already been presented to the ICC, at a meeting in Hong Kong last month.
But he is concerned that the members of the committee, which is chaired by the former West Indies captain Clive Lloyd may not have time to study his 20-page report in detail.
“If the members read it, half the job is done,” he added. “The inherent fear of people for mathematics seems to have helped D/L method being questioned beyond a limit. The D/L system comprises several silly mistakes. But somehow it has managed to create an impression that it’s highly scientific. A majority of cricketers and officials are looking for a change and hence it makes sense to give an opportunity to the VJD system at least for the next two years.”
The cricket committee’s agenda also includes the future of the Decision Review System, widely accepted in international cricket but not yet by India, and the legality of the switch-hit.
Guardian Service
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