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The Journey of a Cult can be characterized by clear stages.

1. The Grand Vision

An inspiring figure or leaders introduce an innovative concept that promises a solution for alienated and vulnerable people.

And so it goes. Plans are in motion to confront the system overseas. Pressure is mounting. Smoke is rising from within. One individual, vulnerable, nervous, the slogan POSITIVE INTENT displayed prominently in chicken blood, has emerged from the field and is taken aside with discretion towards an inconclusive loan stint at Derbyshire.

Do you ever miss the beginning, when everything was fresh? The initial phase, of pure instinct.

2. The Honeymoon Phase

Cult leaders guarantee a fresh beginning, hope for a future, love, success within a community united in belief in the philosophy.

How did it feel initially? A team united feeling good. Body art. Muscles. Determination. Elite male wellness energy. Oh sure, England’s players will claim Bazball doesn’t actually exist, ironically since it’s not recognized, what was that spectacle?

Yet it’s clear what it is. It’s the player executing a stroke so depraved it’s beyond belief. It’s the excitement of the captain at his peak, a demeanor suggesting: focused titan, beard made of wood, natural look, genuinely raw you wouldn’t be surprised to glance over and see him playing at mid-off bare-chested holding a fish.

It’s Ben Duckett continuing to have permission speaking publicly, out there looking like a cheerful animal smartly dressed, uttering phrases such as we are actively deconstructing the orange. Certainly, the energy, for a significant period, was only good energy.

3. The Growth Phase

Building period. Unity enforced via memorization of the cult’s slogans. These principles may seem irrational as a loyalty check.

Is it just me? The backlash, the outrage, the disappointment after the first Ashes Test defeat seems too strong, unwarranted. The batting collapsed on the field, as is typical there. They were torn apart while bowling in a short span when tactics failed, outplayed by the opponent batting like England but better, adaptive to conditions, a performer excelling with aura.

Currently, we see the criticism, the anger, the sense of English Test cricket as a failure. The feeling seems to be that England don’t just need to lose, they need to lose righteously, to be purged, obliterated, overwhelmed through sheer skill of the pace attack, the simple basics of Scott Boland, marking achievements with a bashful smile like he’s just been given a rewarding prize. How will they respond?

4. External Conflict

Issues emerge due to setbacks. But the cult cannot admit errors. It turns to anger towards critics.

Ultimately, approaching the upcoming game, we’ve entered an intriguing moment in the story of this approach. Victory is possible in Brisbane in a blur of adrenal disruption. Alternatively, they could lose just as quickly. And if they do lose it seems we may see the decline.

Prior to that, a couple of points worth saying regarding this. In the past, at the start, of light and heat, I wrote an article suggesting Bazball was a cult. There was outrage, which demonstrated as it’s known how to confirm lack of cult status is when its acolytes send hundreds of furiously one-eyed messages denying scrutiny of the philosophy.

What has happened recently are fascinating. Criticism of the approach has now become the cult. Online outrage is widespread, disappointed commentators, pictures of upset travelling fans disappointed by the short match, like a room full of people wanting fairness.

Conversely, there is the broader context of the opponent’s mixed more culturally hard-wired exasperation with the aggressive tourists, out there saying, your cherished traditions and have honed as one way of separating yourself from others, it’s just a joke in the end old boy.

And this is the real point. It’s all cults. The style was a trend as the game has its own culture. Or at least, the team has long been exclusive, a clique, an elite gathering, an insular community with centuries of ceremonial past defining it. Historically, this was a place where power and access are hoarded. It’s the colonial game of England, the early image-makers. And surprisingly, Britain is itself a cult, a system of unknown levels, a place that literally still has a king.

England’s cricketers have been isolated within this world for years. Seeking change, to foster positivity, they are simply replicating their own experience, forming a new circle, an exclusive group, but now with a modern squad and a leader promoting authenticity provided you conform.

Live where your feet are. Confront risks. But no matter how fast and far you run, things stay similar.

Reflecting on this, it might be appropriate to show understanding for Bazball, to acknowledge its merits, that are numerous. How to define it? Creating a sense of freedom. Defying norms. Batting aggressively|Attacking with