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The Evolution of a Phenomenon can be defined by specific steps.

1. The Big Idea

An inspiring figure or coaches propose a new and transcendent idea offering a cure for alienated and vulnerable people.

And so it goes. Plans are in motion to challenge the establishment overseas. Tensions are rising. Smoke is rising from within. A lone figure, exposed, anxious, the phrase ATTACKING MINDSET written on his body as a statement, has come staggering into view and is taken aside under a blanket towards an inconclusive loan stint at Derbyshire.

Do you ever miss the beginning, when optimism reigned? The initial phase, of pure instinct.

2. Love-Bombing

Cult leaders guarantee a reboot, hope for a future, love, salvation among a group with shared faith in the big idea.

What was this thing back then? Just men on a balcony enjoying success. Body art. Muscles. Focus. Confident masculinity. Admittedly, The team insist it’s not a real term, amusingly because if it doesn’t exist, what did we see?

But we know what it is. It’s Harry Brook executing a stroke so depraved it has to be pixelated. It’s the thrill of the leader in ultimate mode, an expression conveying: focused titan, strong features, untamed style, truly contemporary you wouldn’t be surprised to look down and find him positioned on the ground bare-chested and cradling a wild salmon.

It’s the opener often seen to talk in press conferences, appearing as a happy little woodland creature formally attired, saying stuff like we are actively deconstructing the orange. And yes, the vibe, initially, was only good energy.

3. The Growth Phase

Growth phase. Unity enforced via memorization of the cult’s slogans. These principles can appear contradictory as a test of “true belief”.

Am I alone? The reaction, the fury, the feeling of letdown post-defeat appears excessive, overdone. The batting collapsed in Perth, as is typical there. They were savaged defensively during a brief period as the bowling and captaincy fell apart, outplayed by the opponent imitating their style effectively, responsive to the situation, an athlete shining with brilliance.

Currently, we see the pile-on, the rage, the sense of English Test cricket as a failure. The consensus is that defeat must be total, they must be humbled, to be scoured, flame-throwered, overwhelmed via traditional methods of the bowler’s action, the low-fi orthodoxies of the veteran, marking achievements humbly similar to getting a pleasant gift. How will they respond?

4. External Conflict

Issues emerge due to setbacks. But the cult cannot admit errors. It begins to thrive on hostility externally.

Ultimately, half a week out from the second Test, we have now reached a delicious point of tension in the lifespan of this thing. England could quite easily win in the next Test in a blur of adrenal disruption. Alternatively, they could lose just as quickly. Should they fail it seems we really might be entering the death cult phase.

Ahead of this, there are two things to note on the topic. More than two years ago, at the start, of light and heat, an piece was published calling it a phenomenon. People were very angry, which proved the point as it’s known the best way of proving something definitely isn’t a cult is if supporters send hundreds of furiously one-eyed messages objecting to the questioning of its truths.

What has happened recently are fascinating. It seems that hating Bazball has turned into a movement. Social media is furious, disappointed commentators, shots of angry middle-aged followers overseas missing out on play, similar to people wanting fairness.

On the other hand, exists the larger scene of Australia’s more nuanced ingrained annoyance at these weirdly passive-aggressive buccaneers, out there saying, your cherished traditions and have honed as part of your identity culturally from us, it’s not serious in the end old boy.

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, an insular community with centuries of opaque and ritualistic cult history supporting it. This has always been a place where power and access are hoarded. It’s the colonial game of the nation, the early image-makers. And notably, Britain is itself a cult, a system of unknown levels, a monarchy still exists.

The players have been isolated in this system for years. Seeking change, to foster positivity, they are mirroring their past, building another enclosure, a closed circle, however with a modern squad and a mentor who wants you to be yourself as long as yourself is quite a lot like myself.

Live where your feet are. Embrace challenges. However much you change, you remain stuck.

Reflecting on this, now is the time to offer compassion for the approach, to appreciate its good points, which are significant. What does it represent? Encouraging expression. Challenging orthodoxies. Batting aggressively|Attacking with