Let’s hope it doesn’t rain on WC 2019 parade

All you should know about the World Cup weather impact in this edition of DH Deciphers

What’s the weather like right now in the UK?

England is experiencing a heat wave currently just as Summer begins officially on June 1. But the summer conditions are not uniform throughout the United Kingdom. Cloudy conditions are expected at most World Cup match venues and rains at some of them.

Go here to see which matches are expected to be rain-affected.

So, what rules kick in if rain interrupts a match?

Since October 1, 2014, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has been using the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) System, an updated version of the previous Duckworth-Lewis Professional Edition, to set revised targets for teams chasing. The D-L methodology, which came into operation in 1997, was the first to take into account the state of the match when overs were lost. However, as scoring rates in limited overs matches began to steadily increase, the ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach of D-L methodology ceased to adequately deal with matches with high scoring rates. As a result, first, the Professional Edition in 2004 and then the Stern Edition (DLS) in 2014 were introduced to appropriately handle the increasing prevalence of high-scoring matches.

How does the DLS System work?

DLS adjusts the score in proportion to the run-scoring resources -- number of overs and wickets in hand -- available to the two teams. If rain interrupts play, then the loss of overs reduces the resources of the batting side. Overs left are not worth much if wickets aren't available to use them. Conversely, having plenty of wickets in hand is of little value if there aren't sufficient overs in which to use them. So, the overs and wickets resources change in their value according to the state of the innings. DLS calculation takes into account the resources available to the two teams and adjusts the target accordingly.

It's noticed that if it rains in the first innings, the team batting second is set a higher target. Why?

When the interruption occurs during the first innings, so that the match is shortened to one of fewer overs per side than it was at the start, the team batting first is usually more disadvantaged than the team batting second. Before the interruption, they would have been pacing their innings in the expectation of playing 50 overs, but would have probably taken more risks to score faster had they known that their innings would be shortened. The chasing team, on the other hand, knows from the start of their innings that they have a reduced number of overs and can pace their entire innings accordingly. That's why the team batting second are set a higher target to compensate the team batting first for this disadvantage.

What happens if the rain washes off the match for the day?

Each team must have had the opportunity to bat a minimum of 20 overs for a result to be achieved. If play has not resumed by the cut-off time required to allow the minimum number of overs to be bowled to achieve a result on the scheduled day, play is abandoned for the day.