The timing couldn’t have been worse for The Guide’s interview with The Duckworth Lewis Method.

Following a morning of rain and drizzle in London, play started on the second day of The Ashes’s final test at The Oval at 2.30pm – the exact same time The Guide was to call the cricketing supergroup made up of The Divine Comedy’s Neil Hannon and Pugwash’s Thomas Walsh.

What’s worse, the interview was being conducted while the pair were in the BT Sport headquarters – surrounded by banks of televisions showing games from across the world.

As they took the phone there were moments when each was distracted – not least when Australian batsman Peter Siddle was bowled out by James Anderson for 23.

But that dedication underlines the fact that The Duckworth Lewis Method was born out of a genuine love of the game. Even the band’s name refers to a calculation developed to work out the target score for a team batting second in a limited overs match when the play has been interrupted by adverse conditions.

The Duckworth Lewis Method’s pair of albums have filled a void of pop songs about cricket.

“There’s a great quote from Booker T,” recalls Walsh, referring to the writer of Soul Limbo, the tune which has accompanied cricket coverage for decades.

“He got a cheque for half a million pounds for Soul Limbo and all he could say was, ‘What’s this cricket?’ He didn’t even know what it was when the cheques started flowing in.

“Soul Limbo is a wonderful song but it’s not about cricket. Dreadlock Holiday [10cc’s tongue-in-cheek take on reggae] isn’t about cricket.

“The only one is When An Old Cricketer Leaves The Crease [by Roy Harper] which is a poignant tale. We are very proud of doing something unique – doing a whole concept record.”

Even then, the songs collected on The Duckworth Lewis Method’s eponymous 2009 debut and their 2013 follow-up Sticky Wickets aren’t just for aficionados of the game.

The Umpire could apply to the put-upon referee of any sport, The Sweet Spot could as equally apply to sex as cricket, and Flatten The Hay is as much about a nostalgia for childhood as bats and bails.

Elsewhere songs contain references to Pakistani batsman Javed Miandad and Shane Warne’s career-making ball of the century as remembered in the song Jiggery Pokery.

“Cricket fans will know some of the references,” says Hannon. “Non-cricket fans don’t care. We’re not out to convert people, we just write songs because we love the game and we love writing songs.”

Hannon admits when the pair penned the first Duckworth Lewis Method album they were unsure whether they would be able to follow it up.

“The first record went down so well and we felt there was more to say,” he says.

The pair got together last May over a coffee and penned the second album to coincide with Australia’s return to England for the Ashes series.

“We might actually be a lucky charm for England,” laughs Hannon. “We’re going to take credit for the run of success – it’s all our fault. If we’re not careful, the Aussies will be putting out a hit on us.”

The new album was recorded in former Crowded House bassist Nick Seymour’s Dublin studio, with scores of guests – including commentator Henry Blofeld, England coach David Lloyd, cricket lover Stephen Fry and Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe.

The closing number, Nudging And Nurdling, puts the guests into overdrive with stars of stage and screen giving their own reading of the song title (which refers to the practise of gently nudging the ball into vacant areas of the field to score runs). On the roll of honour were comic Isy Suttie, journalist David Hepworth and Crowded House frontman Neil Finn.

“The songs just cried out for them,” says Hannon. “Nudging And Nurdling sounds ridiculous if it was just us saying it. To be honest, most of them admitted they had no idea what they were saying but would say it anyway!”

The second album sees the pair spread their musical wings a little further from the pastoral, Kinksy sound of the debut.

“It contains influences both of us have,” says Hannon, pointing to the synthpop of Line And Length.

“I love my 1980s synth pop – Art Of Noise and Scritti Politti – but I don’t think I could let myself get away with it on my own [Divine Comedy] records. On The Duckworth Lewis Method, we can mess around with samples and synths.”

“Sticky Wickets is a great example of us having fun in our 40s and trying to be Mick Jagger,” adds Walsh.

The addition of a second record means a five-piece version of The Duckworth Lewis Method are finally able to hit the road, starting a UK tour in Brighton.

“You can’t really tour one 40-minute album,” says Walsh. “We did a show at [London’s] Queen Eliza-beth Hall, where we played the of the first whole album from start to finish, and then started again!”

Hannon – who will soon start work on an organ commission for the Royal Festival Hall at London’s Southbank in February – is quite realistic about The Duckworth Lewis Method’s future.

“We both doubt there’s enough material for a third album,” he says.

“We pushed the boundaries to do two, but we got away with it.

“At least we have enough songs for an hour-long gig. We can let the songs become legendary and come back again with them, which isn’t a bad idea for the retirement fund...”