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The Journey of a Cult can be marked by specific steps.

1. The Grand Vision

A charismatic leader or figureheads present a new and transcendent idea pledging a cure for alienated and vulnerable people.

So here we are. They’re getting ready to storm the compound down in Brisbane. Tensions are rising. Conflict emerges from the out-houses. One individual, vulnerable, nervous, the words HIGH RELEASE POINT smeared across his chest as a symbol, has come staggering through the lines and is being led away under a blanket for a temporary assignment at Derbyshire.

Do you recall the beginning, when everything was fresh? The initial phase, of uninhibited aggression.

2. Initial Adoration

Team architects guarantee a fresh beginning, hope for a future, support, redemption among a group united in belief in the big idea.

What was this thing initially? Players celebrating enjoying success. Tattoos. Strength. Jawlines. Confident masculinity. Oh sure, The squad will claim Bazball doesn’t actually exist, ironically because if it doesn’t exist, what exactly did I just watch?

But we know what it is. It’s the batsman executing a stroke so outrageous it defies description. It’s the excitement of the captain in ultimate mode, a look that says: pensive Nordic god, beard made of wood, untamed style, so authentically Modern Savage you wouldn’t be surprised to notice and see him playing on the ground stripped to the waist embracing nature.

It’s the batsman still being allowed to talk in press conferences, resembling a joyful figure in a waistcoat, saying stuff like we’re breaking down traditions. Certainly, the energy, initially, was entirely positive.

3. The Growth Phase

Building period. Cohesion maintained by rote learning of the cult’s slogans. These beliefs can appear contradictory as a loyalty check.

Am I alone? The criticism, the fury, the feeling of letdown following the initial loss feels overblown, unwarranted. The performance was poor in Perth, as they often do in Australia. They were dominated while bowling during a brief period as the bowling and captaincy fell apart, carved around by the opponent playing aggressively but smarter, responsive to the situation, an athlete shining with brilliance.

Now there is the criticism, the rage, the perception of the team as a disgrace. The feeling seems to be that defeat must be total, they need to lose righteously, to be purged, obliterated, defeated via traditional methods of the pace attack, the conventional tactics of the bowler, out there celebrating successes with a bashful smile similar to getting a rewarding prize. How will they respond?

4. External Conflict

Challenges surface from failures in the plan. However, faults are ignored. It starts to feed on anger towards critics.

In truth, a few days before from the second Test, we’ve entered an intriguing moment in the journey of this movement. They might succeed overseas in a blur of adrenal disruption. More likely, defeat could come swiftly. In case of defeat it feels like we really might be entering the death cult phase.

Before that happens, there are two things worth saying about this. Previously, during the initial excitement, of passion and hope, I wrote an article calling it a phenomenon. Criticism followed, which proved the point as it’s known how to confirm something definitely isn’t a cult is if supporters send hundreds of furiously one-eyed messages objecting to the questioning of the philosophy.

What has happened recently are fascinating. Criticism of the approach has now become the cult. Social media is furious, disappointed commentators, images of frustrated followers overseas disappointed by the short match, reminiscent of investors demanding recourse.

Meanwhile, exists the larger scene of the opponent’s mixed ingrained annoyance with the aggressive tourists, out there saying, hey, that thing you love and have fostered and nurtured as part of your identity from the opposition, it’s not serious ultimately.

Here lies the truth. Everything is a cult. The approach was a phenomenon as the game has its own culture. Or rather, English cricket has always been a cult, a clique, a private event, an insular community with a long history of opaque and ritualistic cult history defining it. Historically, this was where entry is limited. It’s the British pastime of England, the early image-makers. And guess what, the nation has its own culture, a structure of hidden ranks, a monarchy still exists.

England’s cricketers have been sealed up in this environment for years. In trying to escape from it, to foster positivity, they are mirroring their past, forming a new circle, a closed circle, but now with 15 cool guys and a mentor encouraging individuality as long as yourself is quite a lot like myself.

Focus on the moment. Embrace challenges. Despite efforts, you remain stuck.

With this mind, it is perhaps the moment to have some sympathy for Bazball, to appreciate its good points, that are numerous. How to define it? Promoting liberation. Challenging orthodoxies. Batting aggressively|Attacking with