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

1. The Grand Vision

A dominant personality or leaders introduce a revolutionary approach offering a panacea for disconnected individuals.

Thus we find ourselves. Plans are in motion to confront the system overseas. Tensions are rising. Signs of trouble appear from within. A lone figure, exposed, shivering, the words HIGH RELEASE POINT displayed prominently in chicken blood, has stumbled from the field and is taken aside under a blanket for a temporary assignment at Derbyshire.

Do you recall the early days, when optimism reigned? The era of early Bazball, of Bazball without brains.

2. Initial Adoration

Team architects promise a new start, a brighter tomorrow, support, success together with shared faith in the philosophy.

How did it feel initially? A team united enjoying success. Ink. Forearms. Jawlines. Elite male wellness energy. Admittedly, The team insist they don’t use the label, amusingly because if it doesn’t exist, what was that spectacle?

But we know its essence. It’s the batsman attempting a move so outrageous it’s beyond belief. It’s the excitement of the captain at his peak, a demeanor suggesting: focused titan, strong features, natural look, genuinely raw you wouldn’t be surprised to notice and see him playing in the field stripped to the waist holding a fish.

It’s the opener often seen speaking publicly, out there looking like a happy little woodland creature formally attired, saying stuff like we are actively deconstructing the orange. Indeed, the vibe, initially, was entirely positive.

3. Expansion Period

Development stage. Unity enforced through repetition of the cult’s slogans. These ideas can appear contradictory as a test of “true belief”.

Am I alone? The reaction, the outrage, the disappointment post-defeat seems too strong, too much. The performance was poor during the match, as they often do in Australia. They were dominated defensively during a brief period when tactics failed, manipulated by the batsman imitating their style effectively, adjusting to the pitch, a man playing with brilliance.

Currently, we see the attacks, the anger, the sense of English Test cricket as a failure. The feeling seems to be that England don’t just need to lose, they need to lose righteously, to be cleansed, obliterated, overwhelmed through sheer skill of the pace attack, the low-fi orthodoxies of the veteran, seen enjoying successes humbly as if receiving a nice new fishing rod. How will they respond?

4. External Conflict

Challenges surface from failures in the plan. However, faults are ignored. It begins to thrive on hostility externally.

Ultimately, a few days before from the second Test, we have now reached a delicious point of tension in the story of this movement. They might succeed overseas through aggressive play. More likely, defeat could come swiftly. And if they do lose it seems we may see the death cult phase.

Prior to that, several aspects worth saying about this. In the past, during the initial excitement, of passion and hope, a column appeared labeling it a movement. Criticism followed, which proved the point since it’s clear the best way of proving lack of cult status is when its acolytes react defensively objecting to the questioning of the beliefs.

What has happened in the last few days are fascinating. Criticism of the approach has turned into a movement. Online outrage is widespread, disappointed commentators, shots of angry middle-aged supporters abroad missing out on play, like a room full of timeshare owners seeking justice.

Conversely, exists the larger scene of Australia’s more nuanced ingrained annoyance at these weirdly passive-aggressive buccaneers, claiming, your cherished traditions and have honed as part of your identity culturally from us, it’s just a joke after all.

Here lies the truth. All movements are similar. Bazball was a cult because cricket is a cult. Or rather, the team has long been exclusive, a circle, a private event, a restricted environment with a long history of tradition and mystery supporting it. It has long been where entry is limited. It’s the British pastime of England, the pioneering brand. And guess what, Britain is itself a cult, a series of esoteric hierarchies, a royal family remains.

The team have been sealed up within this world for years. Seeking change, to create a less brutal environment, they are mirroring their upbringing, forming a new circle, a closed circle, however with a new team and a coach who wants you to be yourself as long as yourself is quite a lot like myself.

Live where your feet are. Run towards the danger. However much you change, you remain stuck.

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