Duckworth Lewis Calculator

How to use the Duckworth – Lewis calculator

What this calculator does

This calculator estimates the Standard Edition Duckworth – Lewis revised target for a rain-affected limited-overs cricket match. It converts overs remaining and wickets lost into resource percentages, then compares the resources available to Team 1 and Team 2. The output is a par score and a target to win. It is useful for understanding published examples, checking club-match scenarios, training scorers, and reviewing how an interruption changes a chase. It does not reproduce the confidential Professional Edition software used for elite international fixtures, and it does not replace the official decision of umpires, scorers, or a competition authority.

When to use it

Use the calculator when Team 2 starts with fewer overs than Team 1, when Team 2's innings is abandoned before its revised allocation is completed, when Team 2 stops and resumes with fewer overs remaining, or when Team 1 loses overs during its own innings and Team 2 may receive more resources. The governing calculation is described in the ECB Standard Edition D/L/S regulations.

How to calculate

1. The calculator opens with a complete demonstration: Team 1 scores 231 from 30 overs, Team 2 receives 28 overs, and Team 2 scores 220. The target is 221 and the score of 220 is a tie. The example workbook is immediately available through Download Excel.
2. Select the exact Interruption type. Replace the demonstration values with the match's official allocations, scores, wickets, and overs remaining. Enter overs in cricket notation: 19.4 means 19 overs plus 4 legal balls, not 19.4 decimal overs.
3. Read Team 1 resources and Team 2 resources, then confirm the Par score and Team 2 target to win. Enter Team 2 runs (optional) to obtain a result status.
4. Download Excel to save the current inputs, formulas, resource accounting, and results. Reset clears the demonstration and all semantic data fields; Download Excel is then disabled until a complete valid state is entered again.

Input guide

Interruption type is required and controls which timing fields appear. Choose Team 2 delayed for a reduction before the chase, Team 2 cut short for an abandoned chase, Team 2 interrupted and resumed for a mid-innings reduction, or Team 1 interrupted and resumed when the first innings lost overs. Maximum overs is a required whole-number value from 1 to 50; 50 is typical for an ODI and 20 for a T20. It validates that no allocation exceeds the competition limit.

Team 1 allocated overs and Team 2 allocated overs are required cricket-over values. They represent the resources available at each innings start, not overs actually bowled. A lower allocation lowers starting resources. Team 1 runs is a required nonnegative whole number, such as 231; it is the base score adjusted by the resource ratio or by G50. Include official penalty runs where applicable. Team 2 runs (optional) is a nonnegative whole number used only to describe the result relative to par; leaving it blank does not prevent a target calculation.

For Team 2 overs completed, enter the legal balls delivered when a cut-short innings ended; the value cannot exceed Team 2's allocation. Team 2 wickets lost is a required whole number from 0 to 9 for cut-short and interrupted modes. More wickets lost reduce the resource remaining at the stoppage. For a resumed Team 2 innings, Team 2 overs remaining at interruption is the old scheduled remainder, while Team 2 overs remaining after restart is the smaller revised remainder. Reversing these fields would imply a gain rather than a loss and is rejected.

For a Team 1 interruption, Team 1 overs remaining at interruption, Team 1 overs remaining after restart, and Team 1 wickets lost at interruption define the resources taken away from Team 1. G50 average first-innings score is a required positive whole number only in this mode. The published Standard Edition guidance uses 245 for higher-level men's cricket and suggests competition-appropriate values for other levels; a larger G50 increases the upward adjustment when Team 2 has extra resources.

Output guide

Team 2 target to win is the minimum whole-number score required for victory. Par score is exactly one run lower and represents a tie. Team 1 resources (R1) and Team 2 resources (R2) are percentages of a full 50-over innings. Resource difference is R2 minus R1 in percentage points: a negative value usually reduces the chase, while a positive value invokes the G50-based addition. Target adjustment compares the revised target with Team 1's score plus one. Result status compares the optional Team 2 score with par; a score above par wins, equal to par ties, and below par loses by the gap.

The Resource accounting table lists Allocated overs, Starting resources, Resources lost after start, Resources available, and Runs entered. Starting resources come from the Standard Edition table at zero wickets lost. Resources lost after start are the difference between the resource remaining at suspension and at restart, or the resource left unused when a chase is abandoned. Resources available are the final R1 and R2 values used in the formula. These are estimates based on the public Standard Edition, not official Professional Edition outputs.

Worked example

In the startup example, Team 1 has 30 overs and scores 231, so R1 is 75.1%. Team 2 is delayed and receives 28 overs, so R2 is 71.8%. Because R2 is lower than R1, the reduced-resource formula applies:

The par score is 220. Entering 220 for Team 2 therefore returns Tie. Changing Team 2's allocation to 30 overs makes R2 equal R1, restoring the ordinary target of 232. The ICC DLS overview and methodology documents explain why overs and wickets are treated as joint scoring resources.