West Indies captain calls for change to Duckworth/Lewis method

Port of Spain, June 13: West Indies captain Carl Hooper called on Wednesday for changes to the method of calculating run targets in one-day cricket following a nine-run defeat to New Zealand.

The method currently used, called the Duckworth/Lewis method after its inventors, meant the target for the West Indies was very difficult to reach.

New Zealand scored 212 for five in 44.1 overs before rain stopped play. Using complex calculations, the umpires then decided the West Indies had to score the same total, but in just 33 overs.

"It definitely needs fine-tuning but for now it's here to stay. It's cost us two games this summer," said Hooper.

Set more than six runs an over to win, the West Indies performed admirably, coming to within nine runs of the revised total, but they were unable to win.

"We're not the first team to be hard done by, but it definitely needs looking at," said Hooper.

The Duckworth/Lewis method, named after British statistician Frank Duckworth and Tony Lewis of the University of the West of England, was introduced to international cricket in 1999 in an experiment that will last until 2004.

It has often been accused of creating unfair targets for a team batting second in a rain-affected match.

New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming brushed off criticism of the method, saying he was delighted with the performance of match-winner Scott Styris, who scored 63 and took six wickets for 25 in seven overs, a record for New Zealand in international limited overs cricket.

"It was just what I asked for. It was a match-winning performance," said Fleming, admitting the 27-year-old had been working on a variation to his medium pace that spins the ball away from the many left-handers in the West Indies team.

Styrus said he hoped the performance would bring him closer to a place in the New Zealand test squad.

West Indies lead the five-match one-day series 2-1 with one game to play, in St. Vincent on Sunday. That is followed by two tests, in Barbados and Grenada, hosting test cricket for the first time.