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The Life Cycle of a Movement is often marked by specific steps.

1. The Big Idea

An inspiring figure or leaders propose an innovative concept pledging a solution for struggling players.

And so it goes. They’re getting ready to challenge the establishment overseas. Pressure is mounting. Smoke is rising from within. An isolated player, exposed, nervous, the phrase ATTACKING MINDSET written on his body as a symbol, has stumbled into view and is taken aside with discretion towards an inconclusive loan stint elsewhere.

Do you recall the start, when the world was still young? The initial phase, of uninhibited aggression.

2. Love-Bombing

Cult leaders promise a reboot, a brighter tomorrow, camaraderie, salvation among a group who all believe in the big idea.

What did it represent at first? A team united enjoying success. Body art. Forearms. Focus. Elite male wellness energy. Of course, The team insist Bazball doesn’t actually exist, which is funny as it’s denied, what did we see?

Yet it’s clear what it is. It’s Harry Brook playing a shot so depraved it has to be pixelated. It’s the excitement of Ben Stokes in ultimate mode, an expression conveying: focused titan, beard made of wood, untamed style, truly contemporary you almost imagine to notice and find him positioned in the field shirtless and cradling a wild salmon.

It’s the opener often seen addressing the media, resembling a happy little woodland creature formally attired, uttering phrases such as we’re challenging norms. Indeed, the vibe, initially, was entirely positive.

3. A New Life

Growth phase. Unity enforced by rote learning of key phrases. These beliefs may seem irrational as a test of “true belief”.

Does anyone else feel? The backlash, the anger, the disappointment post-defeat feels overblown, unwarranted. The batting collapsed in Perth, as is typical there. They were savaged in the field during a brief period as the bowling and captaincy fell apart, outplayed by Travis Head playing aggressively but smarter, adaptive to conditions, a man playing with a kind of light around him.

Now there is 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, obliterated, destroyed via traditional methods of the bowler’s action, the simple basics of the veteran, marking achievements modestly as if receiving a nice new fishing rod. What impact will this have?

4. External Conflict

Issues emerge because of mistakes. However, faults are ignored. It starts to feed on anger towards critics.

The fact remains, a few days before the upcoming game, we’ve entered a delicious point of tension in the lifespan of this thing. England could quite easily win in Brisbane through aggressive play. Alternatively, failure may follow. And if they do lose it feels like we may see the decline.

Prior to that, there are two things to note on the topic. Previously, back in those heady early days, of light and heat, an piece was published calling it a phenomenon. Criticism followed, which was helpful as it’s known the best way of proving lack of cult status is should followers react defensively objecting to the questioning of its truths.

The developments lately are fascinating. Criticism of the approach has turned into a movement. Social media is furious, critical analysts, pictures of upset supporters abroad cheated out of three days of cricket, reminiscent of investors demanding recourse.

Meanwhile, there is the broader context of the opponent’s mixed more culturally hard-wired exasperation towards the unconventional visitors, claiming, hey, that thing you love and have developed to distinguish yourselves from the opposition, well, it’s all a bit of a gag ultimately.

And this is the real point. Everything is a cult. Bazball was a cult since the sport itself is insular. Or rather, English cricket has always been a cult, a circle, a garden party, a restricted environment with two hundred years of opaque and ritualistic cult history defining it. It has long been a place where power and access are hoarded. It’s the British pastime of the British, the early image-makers. And notably, the country is a phenomenon, a system of unknown levels, a monarchy still exists.

The players have been enclosed within this world from a young age. Attempting to break free, to create a less brutal environment, they are simply replicating their past, building another enclosure, a limited community, but doing it this time with 15 cool guys and a leader promoting authenticity as long as yourself is quite a lot like myself.

Stay present. Embrace challenges. Despite efforts, you remain stuck.

Reflecting on this, it is perhaps the moment to offer compassion for the approach, to acknowledge its merits, that are numerous. How to define it? Promoting liberation. Defying norms. Batting aggressively|Attacking with