IT was in an impressive manner that Sri Lanka clinched the Asia Cup from India. Apart from the dominating bowling spell by Ajantha Mendis, who took six wickets and turned the tables, it was Sanath Jayasuriya's hard-hitting century that added an extra feather to the Lankan cap. Though one can explain away the poor show by the Pakistani crew by referring it to the captain, who ascribed it to the unsatisfactory performance of the team, the fact is that the Pakistani cricket has not been living up to the people's expectations. It is a poor reflection of its days of glory. Unfortunately, the woes of our cricket only seem to multiply. While on the one hand our players are inviting career-ending bans over disciplinary violations and getting caught allegedly with contraband, on the other, the PCB seems to be turning a blind eye to this grim reality of poor performance. Leaving aside the field of cricket, we have lost with hockey and figure nowhere in other games as well: tennis, football, swimming, athletics, etc. The present state of affairs indicates a gradual drift towards the demise of the sport, which would be unfortunate if allowed to happen.