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The Journey of a Cult can be characterized by distinct phases.

1. The Big Idea

A charismatic leader or leaders present a new and transcendent idea offering a panacea for alienated and vulnerable people.

So here we are. Plans are in motion to storm the compound in Australia. Tensions are rising. Smoke is rising from the sidelines. A lone figure, exposed, shivering, the slogan POSITIVE INTENT smeared across his chest as a statement, has come staggering into view and is being led away with discretion towards an inconclusive loan stint in county cricket.

Remember the early days, when the world was still young? The days of Bazball 1.0, of pure instinct.

2. Love-Bombing

Movement founders promise a reboot, optimism ahead, camaraderie, redemption among a group with shared faith in the philosophy.

What did it represent back then? Players celebrating basking in glory. Body art. Muscles. Determination. Peak performance vibes. Of course, The team often say they don’t use the label, ironically because if it doesn’t exist, what was that spectacle?

However, everyone understands the concept. It’s Harry Brook attempting a move so outrageous it defies description. It’s the excitement of the captain in his final form, an expression conveying: pensive Nordic god, beard made of wood, hair woven from beaver hide, so authentically Modern Savage you half-expect to glance over and see him playing on the ground shirtless embracing nature.

It’s the batsman often seen speaking publicly, out there looking like a happy little woodland creature formally attired, expressing thoughts like we’re breaking down traditions. Indeed, the atmosphere, initially, was uplifting.

3. The Growth Phase

Building period. Togetherness strengthened via memorization of mantras. These principles can appear contradictory as a loyalty check.

Is it just me? The reaction, the fury, the sense of betrayal post-defeat appears excessive, unwarranted. England batted badly on the field, as history shows. They were savaged defensively for a couple of hours when tactics failed, manipulated by the batsman imitating their style effectively, adaptive to conditions, a man playing with aura.

And now we have this the pile-on, the frustration, the sense of English Test cricket as a kind of abomination. The consensus is that losing isn’t enough, they need to lose righteously, to be purged, destroyed, destroyed by the vengeful purity of Mitchell Starc’s movements, the low-fi orthodoxies of the bowler, marking successes humbly as if receiving a pleasant gift. What will this do to them?

4. External Conflict

Challenges surface due to setbacks. However, faults are ignored. It turns to hostility externally.

Ultimately, approaching the next match, we are at a delicious point of tension in the journey of this thing. England could quite easily win in the next Test in a blur of adrenal disruption. Alternatively, they could lose just as quickly. In case of defeat it appears we may see the decline.

Before that happens, a couple of points to note on the topic. In the past, during the initial excitement, of light and heat, an piece was published suggesting Bazball was a cult. There was outrage, which was helpful as it’s known the best way of proving that it’s not a closed group is if supporters send hundreds of furiously one-eyed messages rejecting criticism of its truths.

What has happened recently are fascinating. Criticism of the approach has now become the cult. Online outrage is widespread, angry English pundits, shots of angry middle-aged followers overseas cheated out of three days of cricket, reminiscent of people wanting fairness.

Meanwhile, there is the broader context of Australia’s more nuanced deep-seated frustration towards the unconventional visitors, out there saying, your cherished traditions and have fostered and nurtured to distinguish yourselves culturally from us, it’s not serious after all.

This is the core issue. All movements are similar. The style was a trend as the game has its own culture. Or rather, the sport in England is closed, a clique, an elite gathering, a closed world with two hundred years of tradition and mystery behind it. Historically, this was where entry is limited. It’s the colonial game of the nation, the original sports washers. And surprisingly, the nation has its own culture, a series of esoteric hierarchies, a place that literally still has a king.

England’s cricketers have been sealed up in this system from a young age. Seeking change, to create a less brutal environment, they are just repeating their own experience, creating another a bubble, an exclusive group, but now with a new team and a mentor who wants you to be yourself as long as yourself is quite a lot like myself.

Focus on the moment. Embrace challenges. However much you change, things stay similar.

With this mind, it might be appropriate to offer compassion for Bazball, to appreciate its good points, which are significant. What is Bazball? Promoting liberation. Questioning traditions. Batting aggressively|Attacking with