The Duckworth/Lewis (D/L for short) method provides a classic example of where an on-going problem in the popular arena was identified as a mathematical one and so needed a mathematical solution. The arena was the game of cricket and the idea that the solution lay in a suitable mathematical model was quite foreign to the administrators of the game. It was only the fact that several other methods were tried and yielded disastrous results that allowed D/L to be given proper consideration. The D/L method is used to revise targets in limited-overs matches when one or both of the two sides competing have had their innings shortened after the match has started. Such interruptions usually alter the balance of the run-scoring resources available to each side and the method corrects for this imbalance.
