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The Life Cycle of a Cult can be characterized by distinct phases.

1. The Grand Vision

A charismatic leader or coaches propose a revolutionary approach offering a panacea for disconnected individuals.

And so it goes. Preparations are underway to storm the compound down in Brisbane. The gunships are circling. Signs of trouble appear from the out-houses. An isolated player, vulnerable, shivering, the phrase ATTACKING MINDSET displayed prominently in chicken blood, has come staggering through the lines and is being led away under a blanket to a different team at Derbyshire.

Remember the start, when optimism reigned? The days of Bazball 1.0, of Bazball without brains.

2. Love-Bombing

Cult leaders offer a reboot, optimism ahead, support, success together with shared faith in the method.

What did it represent at first? Players celebrating basking in glory. Tattoos. Muscles. Determination. Confident masculinity. Oh sure, The team will claim they don’t use the label, ironically because if it doesn’t exist, what exactly did I just watch?

However, everyone understands what it is. It’s Harry Brook executing a stroke so unconventional it has to be pixelated. It’s the adrenaline of Ben Stokes in ultimate mode, a demeanor suggesting: pensive Nordic god, rugged appearance, natural look, genuinely raw you half-expect to notice and see him playing on the ground shirtless holding a fish.

It’s the batsman often seen to talk in press conferences, out there looking like a happy little woodland creature formally attired, uttering phrases such as we are actively deconstructing the orange. Certainly, the energy, for quite a long time, was uplifting.

3. The Growth Phase

Building period. Cohesion maintained by rote learning of mantras. These beliefs may seem irrational as a loyalty check.

Is it just me? The criticism, the outrage, the sense of betrayal following the initial loss feels overblown, unwarranted. The performance was poor in Perth, as is typical there. They were torn apart defensively for a couple of hours as the bowling and captaincy fell apart, outplayed by Travis Head batting like England but better, adaptive to conditions, a performer excelling with a kind of light around him.

And now we have this the attacks, the rage, the view of the sport as a disgrace. The feeling seems to be that defeat must be total, they need to lose righteously, to be cleansed, obliterated, overwhelmed by the vengeful purity of the bowler’s action, the simple basics of the veteran, seen enjoying his wickets 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. Yet, mistakes are denied. It begins to thrive on hostility externally.

Ultimately, a few days before the next match, we are at a critical juncture in the lifespan of this thing. England could quite easily win in Brisbane through aggressive play. More likely, defeat could come swiftly. And if they do lose it appears we could be witnessing the decline.

Prior to that, a couple of points to consider on the topic. Previously, back in those heady early days, of light and heat, I wrote an article suggesting Bazball was a cult. Criticism followed, which demonstrated because everyone knows the best way of proving lack of cult status is if supporters react defensively denying scrutiny of the beliefs.

The developments lately are fascinating. It seems that hating Bazball has now become the cult. Social media is furious, disappointed commentators, images of frustrated travelling fans disappointed by the short match, like a room full of people wanting fairness.

Conversely, we have the wider backdrop of the opponent’s mixed ingrained annoyance at these weirdly passive-aggressive buccaneers, claiming, your cherished traditions and have fostered and nurtured as part of your identity from the opposition, it’s not serious in the end old boy.

And this is the real point. All movements are similar. The approach was a phenomenon because cricket is a cult. Or rather, English cricket has always been a cult, a circle, an elite gathering, a closed world with two hundred years of opaque and ritualistic cult history behind it. It has long been where influence is guarded. It’s the imperial sport of England, the original sports washers. And notably, the country is a phenomenon, a system of unknown levels, a place that literally still has a king.

England’s cricketers have been enclosed in this system since childhood. Attempting to break free, to build a better atmosphere, they are just repeating their own experience, creating another a bubble, an exclusive group, but now with 15 cool guys and a coach encouraging individuality as long as yourself is quite a lot like myself.

Focus on the moment. Embrace challenges. However much you change, you remain stuck.

Considering this, it might be appropriate to show understanding for Bazball, to acknowledge its merits, of which there are many. How to define it? Creating a sense of freedom. Defying norms. Batting aggressively|Attacking with