Review - The Duckworth Lewis Method

So who would have thought that a slightly quirky concept album about cricket could turn out to be the music hit of the year?



But that might just be the case with The Duckworth Lewis Method, produced by a band with same name assembled by Neil Hannon of Divine Comedy fame.

The name of the album derives from the arcane method of calculating a revised run target in rain-affected match. But from this rather uninspiring premise comes a real cornucopia of musical styles, from music hall to jazz to ska, with witty and sometimes moving lyrics. The track Jiggery Pokery, relating Shane Warne's legendary first-ball dismissal of Mike Gatting, is a particular gem.

If it is influenced by anything, then probably it is Sgt Pepper

Hannon clearly loves his subject but you may not even have to like cricket to love this!