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The Journey of a Cult tends to be defined by clear stages.

1. The Core Concept

An inspiring figure or figureheads propose a new and transcendent idea that promises a cure for struggling players.

Thus we find ourselves. They’re getting ready to storm the compound down in Brisbane. The gunships are circling. Smoke is rising from the sidelines. An isolated player, vulnerable, anxious, the words HIGH RELEASE POINT displayed prominently as a symbol, has come staggering from the field and is taken aside in secrecy towards an inconclusive loan stint at Derbyshire.

Do you ever miss the start, when optimism reigned? The era of early Bazball, of uninhibited aggression.

2. Initial Adoration

Team architects guarantee a reboot, hope for a future, camaraderie, salvation within a community who all believe in the big idea.

What did it represent initially? Just men on a balcony basking in glory. Body art. Forearms. Determination. Elite male wellness energy. Admittedly, England’s players often say they don’t use the label, which is funny since it’s not recognized, what was that spectacle?

But we know the concept. It’s the player playing a shot so depraved it has to be pixelated. It’s the adrenaline of Ben Stokes at his peak, an expression conveying: pensive Nordic god, rugged appearance, natural look, genuinely raw you almost imagine to notice and notice he’s fielding in the field bare-chested embracing nature.

It’s Ben Duckett still being allowed addressing the media, appearing as a happy little woodland creature formally attired, uttering phrases such as we are actively deconstructing the orange. Indeed, the energy, for quite a long time, was entirely positive.

3. The Growth Phase

Building period. Cohesion maintained by rote learning of mantras. These principles can appear contradictory as a test of “true belief”.

Is it just me? The backlash, the fury, the disappointment post-defeat feels overblown, too much. The performance was poor in Perth, as history shows. They were dominated while bowling in a short span as plans unraveled, carved around by Travis Head imitating their style effectively, responsive to the situation, a performer excelling with a kind of light around him.

And now we have this the pile-on, the anger, the perception of the team as a disgrace. The consensus is that defeat must be total, they should be dismantled, to be scoured, destroyed, destroyed by the vengeful purity of the pace attack, the low-fi orthodoxies of the bowler, marking his wickets with a bashful smile similar to getting a nice new fishing rod. What will this do to them?

4. Hate Bonding

Problems arise because of mistakes. However, faults are ignored. It starts to feed on hatred of the outside world.

The fact remains, a few days before from the second Test, we are at a critical juncture in the story of this approach. England could quite easily win in the next Test with bold tactics. Probably, defeat could come swiftly. In case of defeat it feels like we could be witnessing the death cult phase.

Before that happens, there are two things worth saying regarding this. More than two years ago, at the start, of passion and hope, an piece was published suggesting Bazball was a cult. Criticism followed, which proved the point since it’s clear a method to show something definitely isn’t a cult is if supporters respond with anger denying scrutiny of the philosophy.

Recent events lately is just as interesting. It seems that hating Bazball has now become the cult. We have a uniformly angry internet, angry English pundits, images of frustrated supporters abroad cheated out of three days of cricket, like a room full of people wanting fairness.

On the other hand, exists the larger scene of the opponent’s mixed deep-seated frustration at these weirdly passive-aggressive buccaneers, claiming, the methods you value and have honed as part of your identity from others, well, it’s all a bit of a gag after all.

This is the core issue. Everything is a cult. The approach was a phenomenon because cricket is a cult. Or at least, the team has long been exclusive, a group, an elite gathering, a closed world with two hundred years of opaque and ritualistic cult history behind it. It has long been a place where power and access are hoarded. It’s the imperial sport of England, the pioneering brand. And notably, the nation has its own culture, a series of esoteric hierarchies, a royal family remains.

The team have been enclosed in this system for years. Attempting to break free, to foster positivity, they are mirroring their past, creating another a bubble, a limited community, but doing it this time with a modern squad and a coach encouraging individuality as long as yourself is quite a lot like myself.

Focus on the moment. Embrace challenges. But no matter how fast and far you run, things stay similar.

With this mind, it might be appropriate to offer compassion for Bazball, to appreciate its good points, that are numerous. What is Bazball? Creating a sense of freedom. Questioning traditions. Batting aggressively|Attacking with