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The Journey of a Cult can be characterized by specific steps.

1. The Core Concept

An inspiring figure or figureheads propose an innovative concept offering a panacea for disconnected individuals.

So here we are. Preparations are underway to challenge the establishment overseas. The gunships are circling. Smoke is rising from the out-houses. One individual, naked, shivering, the words HIGH RELEASE POINT written on his body in chicken blood, has emerged into view and is being led away in secrecy to a different team in county cricket.

Do you ever miss the early days, when optimism reigned? The initial phase, of uninhibited aggression.

2. The Honeymoon Phase

Cult leaders guarantee a fresh beginning, a brighter tomorrow, camaraderie, redemption within a community with shared faith in the philosophy.

How did it feel back then? A team united enjoying success. Tattoos. Muscles. Focus. Peak performance vibes. Admittedly, The squad will claim Bazball doesn’t actually exist, which is funny as it’s denied, what exactly did I just watch?

Yet it’s clear its essence. It’s the player executing a stroke so unconventional it defies description. It’s the thrill of the leader at his peak, an expression conveying: pensive Nordic god, strong features, hair woven from beaver hide, so authentically Modern Savage you almost imagine to glance over and find him positioned in the field shirtless and cradling a wild salmon.

It’s Ben Duckett still being allowed addressing the media, out there looking like a joyful figure in a waistcoat, saying stuff like we’re challenging norms. Certainly, the vibe, for a significant period, was uplifting.

3. The Growth Phase

Development stage. Togetherness strengthened by rote learning of mantras. These beliefs are often illogical to prove commitment.

Am I alone? The criticism, the anger, the sense of betrayal following the initial loss seems too strong, unwarranted. England batted badly on the field, as they often do in Australia. They were torn apart while bowling during a brief period when tactics failed, outplayed by the batsman batting like England but better, adaptive to conditions, a man playing with a kind of light around him.

Now there is the pile-on, the anger, the sense of English Test cricket 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 cleansed, flame-throwered, destroyed by the vengeful purity of Mitchell Starc’s movements, the simple basics of Scott Boland, marking achievements with a bashful smile like he’s just been given a pleasant gift. What impact will this have?

4. The Backlash Phase

Issues emerge from failures in the plan. Yet, mistakes are denied. It begins to thrive on hostility externally.

The fact remains, approaching the next match, we are at a delicious point of tension in the story of this approach. They might succeed in Brisbane with bold tactics. Alternatively, failure may follow. Should they fail it feels like we really might be entering the final stage.

Before that happens, a couple of points to note on the topic. More than two years ago, during the initial excitement, of optimism and energy, an piece was published labeling it a movement. There was outrage, which was helpful because everyone knows how to confirm that it’s not a closed group is when its acolytes react defensively objecting to the questioning of the beliefs.

What has happened in the last few days is just as interesting. Criticism of the approach is now the trend. Social media is furious, disappointed commentators, images of frustrated followers overseas cheated out of three days of cricket, similar to timeshare owners seeking justice.

On the other hand, there is the broader context of the host’s complex ingrained annoyance towards the unconventional visitors, claiming, hey, that thing you love and have fostered and nurtured to distinguish yourselves from the opposition, it’s not serious in the end old boy.

Here lies the truth. It’s all cults. The style was a trend as the game has its own culture. Or rather, the team has long been exclusive, a clique, a garden party, a closed world with two hundred years of opaque and ritualistic cult history behind it. This has always been where influence is guarded. It’s the British pastime of the nation, the original sports washers. And surprisingly, Britain is itself a cult, a structure of hidden ranks, a place that literally still has a king.

The team have been isolated in this environment since childhood. In trying to escape from it, to create a less brutal environment, they are mirroring their past, building another enclosure, an exclusive group, however with a new team and a mentor promoting authenticity as long as yourself is quite a lot like myself.

Live where your feet are. Confront risks. Despite efforts, you remain stuck.

With this mind, it might be appropriate to offer compassion for the approach, to appreciate its good points, that are numerous. What is Bazball? Promoting liberation. Challenging orthodoxies. Batting aggressively|Attacking with