This time ‘cricket diplomacy’ will bring about some long-term and positive changes between the two countries as for the first time an elected representative from Pakistan is visiting India to watch a cricket match.

With careful diplomatic scripting, India and Pakistan began talking again this week...Then, unexpectedly, a cricket match intervened, and almost overnight, the scope and possibilities of the dialogue have changed. The national teams of India and Pakistan have both advanced to the semifinal round of the cricket World Cup tournament, now in progress.

Cricket diplomacy is the opposite of the notorious “gunboat diplomacy,” in which forces are deployed and coercion is used against the opponent. In the context of Pakistan-India relations, the history of diplomatic episodes in the name of cricket is not new.

Inspired by the city’s famous Chinese fishing nets and Kerala’s renowned prowess in athletics, I thought this might be the occasion for looking anew at India’s ties with China — not through the prism of diplomacy or trade this time, but with an eye to our sporting differences, and what they reveal about our two countries.

The United Nations is making a push for peace between Israel and Palestine by using sports as a first step. Reminiscent of ping pong diplomacy between the United States and China where table tennis helped thaw frosty relations, the UN hopes sports like football can create dialogue and ease tensions.

Since the whole deal with the public vote for the 2014 Winter Olympics to be held in Sochi began back in September [RUS], the issue seems to have been all but “non-political”: from the selection of 11 emblems-finalists at the end of the solicitation period to the actual call-in and SMS vote on February 26 2011, televised [RUS] on the state channel ORT.

The game of cricket is one of the things that distinguishes England from Ireland. The English play it, the Irish don’t, at least not much. The English are the professional giants of the game, the Irish are amateurs, struggling in a country where many associate cricket with the days of British occupation.

To most Long Islanders, it’s just the Suffolk County JCC. But admirers of Semitic sportspeople also know the Commack building as home of the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame and Museum.And on March 27, the Hall will get its latest inductee: Tal Brody, “Israel’s first modern-day sports hero…