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

1. The Grand Vision

An inspiring figure or figureheads introduce an innovative concept offering a cure for struggling players.

And so it goes. They’re getting ready to challenge the establishment down in Brisbane. Pressure is mounting. Smoke is rising from the sidelines. A lone figure, naked, shivering, the slogan POSITIVE INTENT displayed prominently in chicken blood, has come staggering from the field and is taken aside under a blanket to a different team elsewhere.

Do you ever miss the early days, when the world was still young? The initial phase, of uninhibited aggression.

2. The Honeymoon Phase

Cult leaders guarantee a reboot, optimism ahead, support, success among a group united in belief in the method.

What did it represent back then? Just men on a balcony enjoying success. Body art. Muscles. Focus. Peak performance vibes. Oh sure, The squad will claim they don’t use the label, ironically as it’s denied, what was that spectacle?

Yet it’s clear what it is. It’s the batsman executing a stroke so depraved it’s beyond belief. It’s the adrenaline of the captain in his final form, an expression conveying: pensive Nordic god, beard made of wood, hair woven from beaver hide, truly contemporary you half-expect to look down and notice he’s fielding on the ground bare-chested holding a fish.

It’s the opener often seen addressing the media, resembling a cheerful animal in a waistcoat, expressing thoughts like we’re breaking down traditions. Indeed, the vibe, for quite a long time, was entirely positive.

3. Expansion Period

Growth phase. Togetherness strengthened via memorization of key phrases. These ideas are often illogical as a loyalty check.

Does anyone else feel? The criticism, the anger, the sense of betrayal post-defeat seems too strong, overdone. England batted badly on the field, as is typical there. They were torn apart while bowling during a brief period as plans unraveled, outplayed by the batsman imitating their style effectively, adaptive to conditions, an athlete shining with brilliance.

And now we have this the pile-on, the frustration, the sense of English Test cricket as a disgrace. The consensus is that defeat must be total, they should be dismantled, to be cleansed, obliterated, overwhelmed through sheer skill 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 will this do to them?

4. External Conflict

Challenges surface from failures in the plan. But the cult cannot admit errors. It starts to feed on hostility externally.

Ultimately, a few days before from the second Test, we have now reached a critical juncture in the lifespan of this thing. Victory is possible overseas through aggressive play. Probably, defeat could come swiftly. In case of defeat it appears we could be witnessing the final stage.

Ahead of this, several aspects worth saying about this. In the past, during the initial excitement, of optimism and energy, a column appeared calling it a phenomenon. People were very angry, which demonstrated because everyone knows how to confirm lack of cult status is if supporters respond with anger objecting to the questioning of its truths.

The developments in the last few days is just as interesting. Opposition to the style has turned into a movement. Online outrage is widespread, critical analysts, shots of angry middle-aged travelling fans disappointed by the short match, like a room full of investors demanding recourse.

On the other hand, we have the wider backdrop of Australia’s more nuanced ingrained annoyance with the aggressive tourists, stating, hey, that thing you love and have fostered and nurtured to distinguish yourselves from the opposition, it’s just a joke in the end old boy.

Here lies the truth. It’s all cults. Bazball was a cult as the game has its own culture. Or at least, the team has long been exclusive, a group, a garden party, a restricted environment with two hundred years of tradition and mystery behind it. It has long been where entry is limited. It’s the colonial game of the nation, the early image-makers. And notably, the nation has its own culture, a series of esoteric hierarchies, a place that literally still has a king.

England’s cricketers have been sealed up in this environment for years. In trying to escape from it, to foster positivity, they are simply replicating their past, creating another a bubble, a closed circle, however with a new team and a coach encouraging individuality provided you conform.

Stay present. Confront risks. However much you change, things stay similar.

With this mind, it is perhaps the moment to show understanding for the movement, to appreciate its good points, that are numerous. What is Bazball? Promoting liberation. Defying norms. Batting aggressively|Attacking with