🔗 Share this article

The Life Cycle of a Cult tends to be defined by distinct phases.

1. The Big Idea

A dominant personality or coaches introduce a revolutionary approach offering a solution for disconnected individuals.

Thus we find ourselves. Preparations are underway to storm the compound down in Brisbane. Tensions are rising. Signs of trouble appear from the sidelines. One individual, exposed, nervous, the slogan POSITIVE INTENT displayed prominently as a symbol, has stumbled into view and is being led away under a blanket to a different team elsewhere.

Do you recall the early days, when the world was still young? The era of early Bazball, of Bazball without brains.

2. Love-Bombing

Team architects offer a reboot, optimism ahead, support, success together united in belief in the philosophy.

How did it feel initially? A team united basking in glory. Tattoos. Muscles. Jawlines. Elite male wellness energy. Of course, The squad insist Bazball doesn’t actually exist, amusingly as it’s denied, what did we see?

Yet it’s clear the concept. It’s Harry Brook playing a shot so unconventional it defies description. It’s the thrill of the leader in his final form, an expression conveying: thoughtful warrior, rugged appearance, hair woven from beaver hide, so authentically Modern Savage you half-expect to glance over and see him playing on the ground shirtless and cradling a wild salmon.

It’s the opener often seen addressing the media, appearing as a joyful figure in a waistcoat, expressing thoughts like we are actively deconstructing the orange. Certainly, the energy, for quite a long time, was uplifting.

3. A New Life

Growth phase. Cohesion maintained by rote learning of the cult’s slogans. These ideas are often illogical as a loyalty check.

Am I alone? The reaction, the fury, the feeling of letdown post-defeat feels overblown, overdone. The performance was poor on the field, as history shows. They were savaged defensively for a couple of hours as the bowling and captaincy fell apart, outplayed by Travis Head batting like England but better, adaptive to conditions, a performer excelling with a kind of light around him.

And now we have this the criticism, the rage, the view of the sport as a failure. The opinion suggests that England don’t just need to lose, they must be humbled, to be cleansed, obliterated, destroyed by the vengeful purity of the pace attack, the simple basics of Scott Boland, marking successes with a bashful smile similar to getting a nice new fishing rod. What impact will this have?

4. Hate Bonding

Issues emerge because of mistakes. Yet, mistakes are denied. It turns to hatred of the outside world.

The fact remains, approaching the next match, we’ve entered an intriguing moment in the lifespan of this approach. England could quite easily win in the next Test in a blur of adrenal disruption. More likely, they could lose just as quickly. In case of defeat it seems we could be witnessing the death cult phase.

Before that happens, several aspects to note about this. More than two years ago, back in those heady early days, of light and heat, I wrote an article calling it a phenomenon. People were very angry, which demonstrated because everyone knows a method to show lack of cult status is if supporters react defensively objecting to the questioning of the beliefs.

The developments lately are fascinating. Opposition to the style has now become the cult. We have a uniformly angry internet, critical analysts, pictures of upset travelling fans cheated out of three days of cricket, similar to people wanting fairness.

Conversely, there is the broader context of the opponent’s mixed ingrained annoyance towards the unconventional visitors, out there saying, hey, that thing you love and have developed as part of your identity from others, well, it’s all a bit of a gag ultimately.

Here lies the truth. All movements are similar. The approach was a phenomenon since the sport itself is insular. In fact, the sport in England is closed, a group, an elite gathering, an insular community with a long history of ceremonial past supporting it. It has long been where influence is guarded. It’s the British pastime of the British, the pioneering brand. And notably, Britain is itself a cult, a structure of hidden ranks, a place that literally still has a king.

England’s cricketers have been sealed up in this environment for years. Attempting to break free, to foster positivity, they are just repeating their upbringing, creating another a bubble, a limited community, but doing it this time with a modern squad and a mentor promoting authenticity provided you conform.

Stay present. Confront risks. But no matter how fast and far you run, things stay similar.

Reflecting on this, now is the time to have some sympathy for Bazball, to acknowledge its merits, of which there are many. How to define it? Encouraging expression. Challenging orthodoxies. Batting aggressively|Attacking with