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The Life Cycle of a Cult tends to be marked by specific steps.

1. The Big Idea

A dominant personality or leaders introduce a new and transcendent idea that promises a panacea for struggling players.

Thus we find ourselves. Plans are in motion to confront the system in Australia. Tensions are rising. Conflict emerges from within. An isolated player, naked, nervous, the slogan POSITIVE INTENT displayed prominently as a statement, has stumbled into view and is taken aside with discretion towards an inconclusive loan stint in county cricket.

Do you ever miss the start, when optimism reigned? The days of Bazball 1.0, of Bazball without brains.

2. The Honeymoon Phase

Team architects promise a new start, optimism ahead, support, salvation within a community united in belief in the big idea.

What did it represent at first? Players celebrating basking in glory. Ink. Strength. Determination. Elite male wellness energy. Of course, England’s players often say Bazball doesn’t actually exist, amusingly because if it doesn’t exist, what did we see?

Yet it’s clear its essence. It’s the batsman playing a shot so depraved it’s beyond belief. It’s the adrenaline of the leader at his peak, a look that says: pensive Nordic god, beard made of wood, natural look, genuinely raw you half-expect to glance over and see him playing on the ground stripped to the waist and cradling a wild salmon.

It’s the opener still being allowed to talk in press conferences, resembling a cheerful animal formally attired, uttering phrases such as we are actively deconstructing the orange. Indeed, the energy, for a significant period, was only good energy.

3. Expansion Period

Growth phase. Unity enforced through repetition of mantras. These ideas are often illogical to prove commitment.

Am I alone? The backlash, the outrage, the disappointment after the first Ashes Test defeat feels overblown, overdone. The batting collapsed during the match, as history shows. They were torn apart in the field during a brief period as the bowling and captaincy fell apart, outplayed by the opponent batting like England but better, responsive to the situation, a performer excelling with a kind of light around him.

And now we have this the pile-on, the anger, the perception of the team as a kind of abomination. The feeling seems to be that England don’t just need to lose, they need to lose righteously, to be scoured, flame-throwered, defeated by the vengeful purity of the pace attack, the low-fi orthodoxies of the veteran, marking successes humbly like he’s just been given a pleasant gift. How will they respond?

4. The Backlash Phase

Challenges surface because of mistakes. But the cult cannot admit errors. It starts to feed on hatred of the outside world.

The fact remains, a few days before the next match, we have now reached an intriguing moment in the journey of this thing. They might succeed overseas with bold tactics. More likely, defeat could come swiftly. In case of defeat it feels like we really might be entering the decline.

Ahead of this, several aspects to note on the topic. More than two years ago, at the start, of optimism and energy, I wrote an article labeling it a movement. People were very angry, which was helpful since it’s clear how to confirm something definitely isn’t a cult is when its acolytes react defensively rejecting criticism of the beliefs.

Recent events recently are fascinating. It seems that hating Bazball is now the trend. Social media is furious, critical analysts, shots of angry middle-aged supporters abroad missing out on play, like a room full of investors demanding recourse.

Conversely, there is the broader context of Australia’s more nuanced deep-seated frustration with the aggressive tourists, out there saying, 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.

Here lies the truth. All movements are similar. The style was a trend as the game has its own culture. Or rather, the sport in England is closed, a group, a private event, an insular community with centuries of ceremonial past behind it. It has long been where entry is limited. It’s the imperial sport of the British, the early image-makers. And surprisingly, the country is a phenomenon, a structure of hidden ranks, a monarchy still exists.

England’s cricketers have been sealed up within this world from a young age. In trying to escape from it, to build a better atmosphere, they are just repeating their own experience, forming a new circle, a limited community, but doing it this time with a modern squad and a coach who wants you to be yourself provided you conform.

Focus on the moment. Embrace challenges. However much you change, things stay similar.

With this mind, it is perhaps the moment to have some sympathy for the movement, to appreciate its good points, of which there are many. What is Bazball? Promoting liberation. Questioning traditions. Batting aggressively|Attacking with