Response to Jewson & French: 'A comment on the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method'

[Extract]
Let me start by heartily thanking the authors for their careful consideration of DLS and its application. I have, of course, always wondered how well the DL methodology, built as it is on international data, mimicked scoring patterns in national competitions (and even district and club leagues, where the method is now being utilised in many places). One of the main premises of the methodology is that scoring patterns are governed by a reasonably consistent risk–reward trade-off more than by overall run rates (at least until such rates become extreme), and thus it should in theory be applicable at most levels of the game, but seeing that confirmed in the data of competitions other than the international ones is a pleasure to read. Indeed, I was recently fortunate enough to gain access to a large database of ball-by-ball outcomes for women’s international matches and was able to confirm there as well that while overall totals were obviously lower, scoring patterns in terms of resource usage were essentially identical to those in the men’s international game, making use of a common DLS version not just expedient, but also justifiable and appropriate.