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The Duckworth-Lewis-Stern Method: How Rain-Hit Targets Are Set

How DLS resets targets in rain-hit ODIs and T20s: overs and wickets as resources, par scores, a worked target, minimum overs and why the method exists.

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Key takeaways

  • DLS sets a revised target for the side batting second when overs are lost, based on two resources: overs remaining and wickets in hand.
  • In the Professional Edition, Team 2's par score is Team 1's score multiplied by Team 2's resources divided by Team 1's resources.
  • The target is the par score rounded up; scoring exactly the rounded-down par score is a tie.
  • Under the ICC's October 2026 conditions, an ODI needs at least 20 overs for the chasing side and a T20I at least five for a result.
  • It was devised by Frank Duckworth and Tony Lewis, first used in 1997, adopted by the ICC in 1999 and renamed after Steven Stern's update in 2014.

Rain does not care about cricket's arithmetic. If the side batting first has 50 overs and the side batting second only 30, simply scaling the target by overs would be unfair, and history shows how badly the old fixes could go wrong. The Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method, DLS, is the ICC's answer. The ICC's October 2026 ODI playing conditions define DLS as the method for determining the target for the team batting second in an interrupted match, with details published on the ICC's website.

Why a new method was needed

Wikipedia's history of DLS explains that it was devised by English statisticians Frank Duckworth and Tony Lewis after the 1992 World Cup semi-final between England and South Africa, decided by the then "most productive overs" method. When rain stopped play for 12 minutes, South Africa needed 22 runs from 13 balls; on the restart, the revised target left them needing 21 from one ball. Two overs had gone, but the target had dropped by only one run.

The older methods shared two flaws, according to the same article:

  • The average run rate method ignored wickets, so a side expecting rain could slog regardless of the wickets it lost.
  • The most productive overs method also ignored wickets, and penalised the chasing side for good bowling by discarding its best overs.

The idea: two resources

DLS treats a side in a limited-overs innings as having two resources for scoring runs: the overs it still has to face and the wickets it has in hand. Historical scores show a close link between those resources and a team's final total. Losing overs reduces resources; so does losing wickets, because a side that is 100 for 0 can attack its remaining overs in a way a side that is 100 for 6 cannot.

The par score and the target

In the Professional Edition used in international cricket, Wikipedia gives the core relationship:

Team 2's par score = Team 1's score × (Team 2's resources ÷ Team 1's resources)

The par score is usually not a whole number. The target is the par score rounded up; scoring the par score rounded down ties the match. The ICC's ODI conditions say the same: the target set will always be a whole number, and one run less constitutes a tie.

A worked example, from Wikipedia's article. Team 1 scores 254 using 100% of its resources. A rain delay leaves Team 2 with 90%. Then 254 × 90% ÷ 100% = 228.6, so Team 2 needs 229 to win, and 228 is a tie.

The resource values used in the Professional Edition are not public, so in professional matches the calculation is run on software rather than by hand.

When a match cannot be finished

The ICC's playing conditions cover two situations:

  1. Overs reduced. If an interruption means either innings must be shortened, a revised target is set by DLS for the overs the side batting second will face.
  2. Play cannot resume. If the second innings is suspended and cannot restart, the chasing side's score is compared with the DLS par score at the moment of suspension. Above par wins by the margin in runs, equal is a tie, below par loses.

Minimum overs apply. Under the October 2026 conditions, the side batting second must have faced at least 20 overs in an ODI, or five in a T20I, for the match to constitute a result. Below that, the match is a no result. Reduced innings also shrink the powerplays under fixed ICC tables.

Where the name comes from

Wikipedia records that the method was first used in international cricket on 1 January 1997, in a Zimbabwe versus England ODI, and adopted by the ICC in 1999. After Duckworth and Lewis retired, the Australian statistician Steven Stern became its custodian, refined the model to fit modern scoring, especially in T20 cricket, and it was renamed Duckworth-Lewis-Stern in November 2014.

DLS beyond the target

DLS also feeds tournament tables. When a match is decided by DLS, the ICC's playing conditions credit the side batting first with the par score or with one run less than the target, rather than raw figures, when calculating net run rate. Test versus ODI versus T20 explains why Tests, with their draws, need no such method.

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Good to know

Frequently asked questions

How does the DLS method work?
It treats a limited-overs side as having two resources for scoring runs, overs to face and wickets in hand. When overs are lost, it works out what share of its resources each side had, and scales the target in proportion, so the chasing side faces an equally difficult task.
What is the DLS par score?
The score the side batting second would need to be level, given the resources it has used. If a match is ended early, the ICC's playing conditions compare the chasing side's score with the par score at the moment of suspension: above it wins, equal ties and below loses.
Why does DLS care about wickets?
Because a side with wickets in hand can score faster in its remaining overs. Earlier methods ignored wickets lost, so a chasing side could slog without regard to wickets if it expected rain. DLS treats a side that is 100 for 0 as better placed than one that is 100 for 6.
How many overs are needed for a DLS result?
Under the ICC's October 2026 conditions, the side batting second must face at least 20 overs in an ODI, or five overs in a T20 international, for a match to be decided. Fewer than that, and the match is a no result.

Sources

  1. ICC Men's ODI Playing Conditions, October 2026 (clauses 13 and 16.4) (opens in a new tab)International Cricket Council — accessed
  2. ICC Men's T20I Playing Conditions, October 2026 (opens in a new tab)International Cricket Council — accessed
  3. Duckworth–Lewis–Stern method (opens in a new tab)Wikipedia — accessed

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