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The Life Cycle of a Cult is often marked by specific steps.

1. The Big Idea

An inspiring figure or coaches introduce a new and transcendent idea that promises a cure for disconnected individuals.

And so it goes. They’re getting ready to confront the system overseas. Tensions are rising. Signs of trouble appear from the sidelines. An isolated player, vulnerable, shivering, the phrase ATTACKING MINDSET written on his body as a statement, has stumbled into view and is removed in secrecy to a different team elsewhere.

Remember the beginning, when optimism reigned? The days of Bazball 1.0, of uninhibited aggression.

2. The Honeymoon Phase

Team architects offer a fresh beginning, a brighter tomorrow, love, salvation together with shared faith in the method.

What did it represent at first? Players celebrating enjoying success. Body art. Muscles. Focus. Confident masculinity. Admittedly, England’s players will claim they don’t use the label, ironically since it’s not recognized, what was that spectacle?

But we know its essence. It’s Harry Brook executing a stroke so unconventional it defies description. It’s the adrenaline of the leader at his peak, a look that says: thoughtful warrior, beard made of wood, hair woven from beaver hide, genuinely raw you wouldn’t be surprised to look down and find him positioned at mid-off stripped to the waist and cradling a wild salmon.

It’s the opener continuing to have permission speaking publicly, out there looking like a happy little woodland creature smartly dressed, expressing thoughts like we’re challenging norms. Indeed, the energy, for quite a long time, was entirely positive.

3. A New Life

Development stage. Unity enforced by rote learning of key phrases. These beliefs can appear contradictory as a test of “true belief”.

Is it just me? The reaction, the fury, the disappointment following the initial loss seems too strong, unwarranted. England batted badly in Perth, as they often do in Australia. They were torn apart while bowling in a short span as the bowling and captaincy fell apart, outplayed by the opponent batting like England but better, adaptive to conditions, a performer excelling with aura.

Now there is the criticism, the rage, the perception of the team as a kind of abomination. The consensus is that defeat must be total, they should be dismantled, to be purged, destroyed, overwhelmed via traditional methods of the bowler’s action, the simple basics of the veteran, marking achievements modestly like he’s just been given a nice new fishing rod. What impact will this have?

4. The Backlash Phase

Issues emerge from failures in the plan. Yet, mistakes are denied. It turns to hatred of the outside world.

Ultimately, a few days before the upcoming game, we have now reached a critical juncture in the story of this movement. Victory is possible overseas through aggressive play. More likely, defeat could come swiftly. Should they fail it feels like we could be witnessing the final stage.

Before that happens, a couple of points to note about this. Previously, at the start, of light and heat, I wrote an article suggesting Bazball was a cult. There was outrage, which was helpful because everyone knows how to confirm lack of cult status is if supporters respond with anger denying scrutiny of its truths.

Recent events recently is just as interesting. Criticism of the approach is now the trend. Online outrage is widespread, critical analysts, shots of angry middle-aged supporters abroad cheated out of three days of cricket, like a room full of people wanting fairness.

On the other hand, we have the wider backdrop of the opponent’s mixed ingrained annoyance with the aggressive tourists, claiming, the methods you value and have developed as one way of separating yourself from others, it’s just a joke after all.

This is the core issue. It’s all cults. The style was a trend since the sport itself is insular. In fact, the team has long been exclusive, a clique, an elite gathering, a restricted environment with centuries of opaque and ritualistic cult history defining it. This has always been where entry is limited. It’s the British pastime of the nation, the original sports washers. And notably, the country is a phenomenon, a series of esoteric hierarchies, a monarchy still exists.

The team have been enclosed in this system since childhood. Attempting to break free, to create a less brutal environment, they are just repeating their upbringing, building another enclosure, a closed circle, but now with 15 cool guys and a coach encouraging individuality as long as yourself is quite a lot like myself.

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

Considering this, it is perhaps the moment to have some sympathy for Bazball, to recognize its positives, of which there are many. How to define it? Encouraging expression. Defying norms. Batting aggressively|Attacking with