Cricket's raining champion Two decades of Duckworth-Lewis (and Stern)

摘要

In 1992, in the closing stages of the semi-final of the Cricket World Cup in Sydney, Australia, South Africa still had all to play for. The England team had been first to bat, scoring 252 runs in total. Now, it was South Africa's turn. With 13 balls left of the game, South Africa needed 22 runs to win. The pressure was on, but victory was in reach. Then came the rain. A downpour halted the game long enough that South Africa lost two overs, or 12 balls, leaving one ball remaining. South Africa would not be expected to score 22 runs off a single ball, however. The rules of the game decreed that, with the loss of overs, South Africa's target number of runs should be reduced.