It's been about eighteen years of waiting for a decent opportunity, but at long last I have made it this year to the Sydney Film Festival.

So far I have seen nine films, ranging from the earnestly good to the bloody brilliant, and I'm booked in for two more before the Festival closes next Sunday.

Here are some brief reviews of the first three films that I saw, with more to follow in future posts:

A Hero's Welcome - Documentary about, and narrated by, Timor-Leste president Xanana Gusmao, shot before the current problems flared up. The film is something of a hagiography of Xanana, but by all reports he's that kinda guy. Directed by Grace Phan, the former CNBC Asia presenter who answered questions following the screening (which was in fact the world premiere). The aerial photography of the Timorese countryside is quite beautiful.

This just in from Cricket Australia:

Fifth 3 mobile Ashes Test (SCG) SOLD OUT

The general public ticket allocation to the Fifth 3 mobile Ashes Test match at the SCG has sold out within 40 minutes this morning.

Tickets all matches in Sydney, including days 1 - 4 of the Test match, went on sale from 9am today through Ticketek (via web, over the phone and through outlets).

A small amount of tickets still remain to the other international matches scheduled for the SCG this summer including:

• Aus v Eng, Twenty20, 9 Jan 2007
• Aus v NZ, ODI, 21 Jan 2007
• Aus v Eng, ODI, 2 Feb
• Second ODI Final

For additional ticketing information, please visit www.cricket.com.au.

As you may have seen, this site was down last Thursday for about 18 hours.

I need to reduce the load on the MySQL server, and as a consequence, I have had to switch off the cron jobs that ran the RSS aggregators every half-hour (which generate the news and blog feeds which are the heart of this site these days).

Currently I am running the aggregator scripts manually twice a day until I develop a less sql-intensive process.

Thanks for your patience.

It's one of the more puzzling IT acquisitions since eBay bought Skype. The Wisden Group announced today that they have bought the manufacturers of the Hawk-Eye ball-tracking technology.

What can be their motive? Unless they are shifting to that corporate category known as "diversified industrials"?

Here is the text of the press release issued by the Wisden Group a few hours ago:

Wisden Group acquisition of Hawk-Eye adds new dimension to presence in global sports markets

The Wisden Group today announced that it has acquired the business interests of Hawk-Eye Innovations Limited, the global pioneer in ball tracking technology for sports broadcasting and officiating.

The agreement reached with Tinopolis Plc adds Hawk-Eye to the Wisden Group's market leading portfolio of sports brands which already includes Wisden Cricketers™ Almanack, The Wisden Cricketer and Cricinfo.

Wisden Group director Mark Getty said that the acquisition of Hawk-Eye was a coup for the group which would strengthen its presence in the global cricket market and provide an entry into tennis and other major international sports.

“In a relatively short space of time, Hawk-Eye has achieved a major impact in the way cricket is presented and appreciated by fans around the world. It already has enormous recognition in the sport and is now making a similar impact in the world of tennis.

“Wisden is cricket’s most famous publisher and Cricinfo is the game’s largest global website, so the addition of Hawk-Eye as the most innovative technology provider in sports broadcasting is a development that will reinforce the group’s presence and influence,” said Mr Getty.

Under the terms of the agreement, Paul Hawkins, the originator and creative mind behind the development of Hawk-Eye, will remain as managing director of Hawk-Eye Innovations and join the senior management team at the Wisden Group.

“Wisden is perhaps the best-known name in cricket and I’m personally delighted that Hawk-Eye is now part of a business that is totally focussed on providing excellence, innovation and entertainment to its many millions of readers, surfers and viewers. There are enormous opportunities for ball tracking technology to revolutionise the way sport is televised and officiated and with the backing of the Wisden Group I am confident that Hawk-Eye can play a major role in making that happen," commented Paul Hawkins.

Hawk-Eye’s global impact on international cricket is reinforced by the quality and status of the broadcasters who have used it to enhance their coverage. Broadcast partners include BSkyB and Channel 5 in the UK, Nimbus in India, Channel 9, Australia, SABC, South Africa, Taj TV in Pakistan and Sri Lanka, TWI in the West Indies and ICC events including the Champions Trophy.

While cricket was the first sport to take advantage of the ability to accurately track and predict the path of a ball, tennis has since followed. The technology has now been used by telecasters covering major tournaments including Wimbledon, the French Open, the Australian Open, the US Masters series, the Davis Cup and the Stella Artois.

With the recent announcement that it will also be used as an official umpiring aid in the US Open and US Open Series of tournaments, tennis has now moved ahead of cricket in placing its faith in line-calling technology.

Tom Gleeson, chief executive officer of the Wisden Group, believes that the successful use of Hawk-Eye in cricket and tennis will pave the way for its use by other major sports.

“Hawk-Eye has added a new dimension to sports broadcasting and created a demand for increased viewer information and entertainment. With an established track record in cricket and tennis, we will now be looking to develop into other televised sports.

“The increased pressure and scrutiny on sports officials in decision making is another area with great potential. Tennis has taken the initiative in the United States and other sports will be closely watching to see how that works out,” predicted Mr Gleeson.

About the Wisden Group
The Wisden Group is a privately owned company specialising in traditional and new media sports publishing. Its portfolio of leading brands includes the famous Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack, Cricinfo and The Wisden Cricketer magazine. Each business is a market leader in its sector. The group has an international presence throughout the cricketing world with operations in the UK, India, Australia, Pakistan, South Africa and Sri Lanka.

About Hawk-Eye Innovations
Hawk-Eye is a revolutionary sports tracking device which has helped transform broadcast coverage of cricket and tennis since making its debut in Channel 4’s 2001coverage of English cricket. The technology, developed by Paul Hawkins, uses sophisticated image processing techniques to process the output of a series of cameras posted around a sports ground. Designed to follow the tracks of balls and competitors, it has applications in many sports for both visual entertainment and officiating assistance for umpires and referees.

Allow me to reprise one of the quotes from Hawk-Eye Innovations MD Paul Hawkins from that release:

"There are enormous opportunities for ball tracking technology to revolutionise the way sport is televised and officiated and with the backing of the Wisden Group I am confident that Hawk-Eye can play a major role in making that happen."

And officiated. Could Wisden be buying their way into the administration of the game? Perhaps the correct comparison here is not to eBay's takeover of Skype, but News Limited's 50% stake in the National Rugby League...

Looks like I'm not.

Duly registered as a member of the Australian Cricket Family, I logged onto the Cricket Australia website at 9am this morning to try and get some tickets for the Sydney Test against England in January. The link took me through to Ticketek's booking website, which told me:

Thank you for visiting Ticketek.com, tickets to a major event have gone on sale today!
Due to a major event going on sale, the website is currently experiencing high demand.

And is still telling me that at 11.40am. And no, I'm not one of those dweebs who hits reload continuously over and over. A more civilised every two or three minutes while I get on with life seemed just as productive for me.

Meanwhile, Cricket Australia announced at 11am that "The ticket allocation to the Australian Cricket Family has been exhausted for days 1-4 of the Sydney Test."

Mind you, I can apparently still get tickets to the Twenty20 game and the three one-dayers. If I can ever get onto the Ticketek website. Fat chance.

There will be a further allocation of tickets available to the general public from June 19. Good luck if you're not one of the Barmitia Militia.

Personal grumbling aside, it's fabulous news for the sport that tickets to any cricket, let alone Test cricket, can be this popular.

When John Howard refuses to condemn something that seems to use mere mortals to be worthy of condemnation, it usually means (a) he supports the action; or (b) Liberal voters support the action; or (c) both.

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose from the dead;
he ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of the Father;
from there he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is an organisation that "promotes sport", according to the Indian finance minister.

A wire report carried by various Indian news websites on Wednesday said that the minister in question, SS Planimanickam informed the national upper house, the Rajya Sabha that the BCCI is registered under Section 12A of the Income Tax Act, which provides income tax exemptions for "charitable institutions".

The BCCI is deemed a charity by virtue of Section 2(15) of the Act, which states that the "promotion of sports and games" is considered to be a "charitable purpose" for the intent of the legislation.

So there you have it. Not only does the BCCI have the purpose of promoting the game of cricket, but it is a charity! File that away for future reference...

It seems that use of the phrase "Welcome cricket 2007" in public is a breach of the ICC's copyright. Well might you say, Whaaa?

Wednesday's Jamaica Gleaner reports that the local organising committee (or LOC to use its official acronym) for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007 has instructed its lawyers to serve notice on the owners of a downtown Kingston property which has the words "Welcome cricket 2007" painted across the front.

The Gleaner quotes Robert Bryan, executive director of the Jamaican LOC as saying "the words Cricket World Cup 2007 used in tandem with World Cup, indicate an association with Cricket World Cup 2007."

The report does not say if Bryan was asked about the legal position when the words "World" and "Cup" are not actually used.

One has to wonder whose market was being ambushed in this case. Or is it now going to be impossible for anyone living in a World Cup host locality to display their excitement about the coming event without being sent a bill for the privilege?

The solution, of course, is to change the wording of the sign to: "Piss off cricket, welcome basketball 2007."