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The Journey of a Cult is often marked by specific steps.

1. The Big Idea

An inspiring figure or coaches introduce an innovative concept offering a solution for disconnected individuals.

Thus we find ourselves. Preparations are underway to challenge the establishment in Australia. Tensions are rising. Signs of trouble appear from the out-houses. A lone figure, vulnerable, nervous, the phrase ATTACKING MINDSET written on his body in chicken blood, has come staggering into view and is being led away with discretion to a different team elsewhere.

Remember the early days, when everything was fresh? The initial phase, of uninhibited aggression.

2. Initial Adoration

Cult leaders offer a new start, a brighter tomorrow, love, redemption together who all believe in the philosophy.

How did it feel initially? Players celebrating enjoying success. Body art. Forearms. Determination. Elite male wellness energy. Admittedly, England’s players insist Bazball doesn’t actually exist, amusingly because if it doesn’t exist, what was that spectacle?

But we know what it is. It’s the batsman executing a stroke so depraved 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, genuinely raw you half-expect to look down and see him playing at mid-off shirtless holding a fish.

It’s the opener continuing to have permission addressing the media, out there looking like a cheerful animal formally attired, saying stuff like we’re challenging norms. Indeed, the energy, for quite a long time, was uplifting.

3. A New Life

Growth phase. Togetherness strengthened through repetition of mantras. These principles are often illogical to prove commitment.

Is it just me? The backlash, the anger, the sense of betrayal post-defeat appears excessive, too much. The batting collapsed during the match, as is typical there. They were savaged defensively in a short span as the bowling and captaincy fell apart, manipulated by the batsman playing aggressively but smarter, adaptive to conditions, a performer excelling with aura.

Now there is the criticism, the anger, the perception of the team as a disgrace. The feeling seems to be that England don’t just need to lose, they should be dismantled, to be scoured, destroyed, overwhelmed by the vengeful purity of the bowler’s action, the low-fi orthodoxies of the veteran, marking successes with a bashful smile like he’s just been given a nice new fishing rod. What impact will this have?

4. External Conflict

Issues emerge because of mistakes. Yet, mistakes are denied. It starts to feed on hostility externally.

Ultimately, a few days before the upcoming game, we are at a delicious point of tension in the lifespan of this thing. Victory is possible overseas in a blur of adrenal disruption. Alternatively, they could lose just as quickly. Should they fail it seems we really might be entering the decline.

Ahead of this, several aspects to consider on the topic. In the past, back in those heady early days, of optimism and energy, I wrote an article labeling it a movement. There was outrage, which proved the point since it’s clear the best way of proving something definitely isn’t a cult is when its acolytes send hundreds of furiously one-eyed messages denying scrutiny of the beliefs.

Recent events in the last few days is just as interesting. It seems that hating Bazball has turned into a movement. Online outrage is widespread, critical analysts, pictures of upset supporters abroad disappointed by the short match, similar to people wanting fairness.

On the other hand, there is the broader context of the opponent’s mixed ingrained annoyance with the aggressive tourists, out there saying, your cherished traditions and have fostered and nurtured as one way of separating yourself culturally from us, it’s not serious after all.

Here lies the truth. It’s all cults. The style was a trend because cricket is a cult. Or rather, English cricket has always been a cult, a circle, an elite gathering, an insular community with two hundred years of opaque and ritualistic cult history supporting it. It has long been where entry is limited. It’s the colonial game of England, the early image-makers. And guess what, Britain is itself a cult, a system of unknown levels, a place that literally still has a king.

England’s cricketers have been enclosed in this environment for years. Attempting to break free, to build a better atmosphere, they are mirroring their own experience, creating another a bubble, an exclusive group, but doing it this time with 15 cool guys and a mentor who wants you to be yourself as long as yourself is quite a lot like myself.

Focus on the moment. Run towards the danger. Despite efforts, you’re always basically in the same place.

Considering this, it is perhaps the moment to have some sympathy for the approach, to recognize its positives, that are numerous. How to define it? Creating a sense of freedom. Defying norms. Batting aggressively|Attacking with