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The Journey of a Cult can be characterized by distinct phases.

1. The Big Idea

A dominant personality or figureheads propose an innovative concept offering a cure for disconnected individuals.

Thus we find ourselves. They’re getting ready to challenge the establishment overseas. The gunships are circling. Smoke is rising from within. A lone figure, naked, nervous, the phrase ATTACKING MINDSET written on his body in chicken blood, has emerged through the lines and is taken aside under a blanket to a different team in county cricket.

Remember the beginning, when optimism reigned? The days of Bazball 1.0, of uninhibited aggression.

2. Initial Adoration

Movement founders offer a new start, optimism ahead, love, redemption among a group who all believe in the method.

What did it represent at first? Players celebrating enjoying success. Tattoos. Strength. Focus. Elite male wellness energy. Of course, England’s players will claim Bazball doesn’t actually exist, ironically because if it doesn’t exist, what was that spectacle?

Yet it’s clear what it is. It’s the player executing a stroke so unconventional it has to be pixelated. It’s the excitement of Ben Stokes at his peak, a look that says: thoughtful warrior, rugged appearance, natural look, truly contemporary you almost imagine to glance over and find him positioned on the ground stripped to the waist and cradling a wild salmon.

It’s Ben Duckett continuing to have permission to talk in press conferences, resembling a cheerful animal in a waistcoat, saying stuff like we’re breaking down traditions. Certainly, the atmosphere, for a significant period, was entirely positive.

3. A New Life

Development stage. Unity enforced through repetition of key phrases. These ideas can appear contradictory as a loyalty check.

Is it just me? The backlash, the fury, the sense of betrayal post-defeat seems too strong, overdone. The batting collapsed in Perth, as history shows. They were torn apart in the field in a short span as the bowling and captaincy fell apart, carved around by the opponent playing aggressively but smarter, responsive to the situation, a man playing with a kind of light around him.

And now we have this the attacks, the anger, the view of the sport as a disgrace. The opinion suggests that England don’t just need to lose, they should be dismantled, to be purged, flame-throwered, overwhelmed through sheer skill of the pace attack, the simple basics of the veteran, seen enjoying his wickets with a bashful smile similar to getting a nice new fishing rod. What will this do to them?

4. The Backlash Phase

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

Ultimately, approaching the next match, we’ve entered an intriguing moment in the lifespan of this thing. They might succeed overseas through aggressive play. Probably, they could lose just as quickly. In case of defeat it appears we really might be entering the decline.

Before that happens, several aspects to consider regarding this. In the past, back in those heady early days, of light and heat, an piece was published suggesting Bazball was a cult. There was outrage, which demonstrated because everyone knows a method to show that it’s not a closed group is should followers send hundreds of furiously one-eyed messages denying scrutiny of its truths.

Recent events recently are fascinating. It seems that hating Bazball has now become the cult. We have a uniformly angry internet, angry English pundits, images of frustrated followers overseas missing out on play, reminiscent of timeshare owners seeking justice.

Meanwhile, we have the wider backdrop of Australia’s more nuanced deep-seated frustration at these weirdly passive-aggressive buccaneers, claiming, the methods you value and have honed as one way of separating yourself from the opposition, it’s just a joke 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 rather, English cricket has always been a cult, a clique, a private event, a restricted environment with a long history of ceremonial past defining it. Historically, this was a place where power and access are hoarded. It’s the British pastime of the nation, the pioneering brand. And surprisingly, the country is a phenomenon, a series of esoteric hierarchies, a royal family remains.

The players have been isolated in this environment since childhood. Seeking change, to create a less brutal environment, they are mirroring their own experience, forming a new circle, a limited community, but doing it this time with a modern squad and a coach promoting authenticity if you fit the mold.

Stay present. Embrace challenges. However much you change, you remain stuck.

Reflecting on this, now is the time to offer compassion for Bazball, to appreciate its good points, of which there are many. How to define it? Creating a sense of freedom. Challenging orthodoxies. Batting aggressively|Attacking with