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The Journey of a Cult tends to be defined by specific steps.

1. The Core Concept

A charismatic leader or figureheads propose an innovative concept offering a panacea for alienated and vulnerable people.

Thus we find ourselves. Plans are in motion to confront the system overseas. Pressure is mounting. Conflict emerges from within. One individual, naked, nervous, the phrase ATTACKING MINDSET written on his body in chicken blood, has emerged through the lines and is being led away in secrecy for a temporary assignment in county cricket.

Remember the start, when the world was still young? The days of Bazball 1.0, of Bazball without brains.

2. The Honeymoon Phase

Team architects guarantee a new start, a brighter tomorrow, support, salvation among a group united in belief in the big idea.

How did it feel initially? Just men on a balcony feeling good. Body art. Strength. Jawlines. Peak performance vibes. Admittedly, The team insist they don’t use the label, ironically since it’s not recognized, what did we see?

However, everyone understands what it is. It’s Harry Brook executing a stroke so outrageous it defies description. It’s the excitement of Ben Stokes in ultimate mode, a look that says: thoughtful warrior, strong features, hair woven from beaver hide, so authentically Modern Savage you half-expect to look down and see him playing on the ground bare-chested holding a fish.

It’s the batsman continuing to have permission addressing the media, out there looking like a happy little woodland creature in a waistcoat, saying stuff like we are actively deconstructing the orange. Certainly, the vibe, for a significant period, was uplifting.

3. The Growth Phase

Development stage. Unity enforced through repetition of mantras. These ideas are often illogical as a loyalty check.

Does anyone else feel? The backlash, the outrage, the sense of betrayal following the initial loss appears excessive, too much. The batting collapsed on the field, as history shows. They were savaged while bowling in a short span as plans unraveled, carved around by the batsman imitating their style effectively, responsive to the situation, a man playing with brilliance.

And now we have this the pile-on, the rage, the sense of English Test cricket as a failure. The feeling seems to be that losing isn’t enough, they must be humbled, to be scoured, obliterated, destroyed by the vengeful purity of the pace attack, the low-fi orthodoxies of Scott Boland, out there celebrating his wickets with a bashful smile like he’s just been given a rewarding prize. What impact will this have?

4. Hate Bonding

Problems arise from failures in the plan. Yet, mistakes are denied. It starts to feed on anger towards critics.

Ultimately, a few days before the upcoming game, we’ve entered a delicious point of tension in the story of this movement. They might succeed in the next Test with bold tactics. Probably, they could lose just as quickly. Should they fail it appears we really might be entering the death cult phase.

Before that happens, a couple of points to note about this. More than two years ago, during the initial excitement, of light and heat, I wrote an article calling it a phenomenon. Criticism followed, which demonstrated since it’s clear the best way of proving that it’s not a closed group is when its acolytes send hundreds of furiously one-eyed messages rejecting criticism of the philosophy.

The developments lately are equally notable. It seems that hating Bazball has now become the cult. Online outrage is widespread, angry English pundits, images of frustrated travelling fans missing out on play, similar to investors demanding recourse.

On the other hand, we have the wider backdrop of Australia’s more nuanced deep-seated frustration towards the unconventional visitors, out there saying, hey, that thing you love and have fostered and nurtured as one way of separating yourself from the opposition, it’s just a joke ultimately.

And this is the real point. All movements are similar. Bazball was a cult because cricket is a cult. Or at least, the team has long been exclusive, a group, a private event, a closed world with two hundred years of ceremonial past supporting it. It has long been a place where power and access are hoarded. It’s the imperial sport of England, the early image-makers. And guess what, the country is a phenomenon, a system of unknown levels, a monarchy still exists.

The team have been enclosed within this world since childhood. In trying to escape from it, to foster positivity, they are just repeating their upbringing, building another enclosure, an exclusive group, but now with a modern squad and a leader who wants you to be yourself provided you conform.

Focus on the moment. Confront risks. But no matter how fast and far you run, you’re always basically in the same place.

With this mind, it is perhaps the moment to show understanding for the movement, to appreciate its good points, of which there are many. How to define it? Creating a sense of freedom. Defying norms. Batting aggressively|Attacking with