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The Life Cycle of a Cult tends to be marked by specific steps.

1. The Grand Vision

A charismatic leader or coaches present a new and transcendent idea that promises a solution for alienated and vulnerable people.

So here we are. Preparations are underway to storm the compound in Australia. The gunships are circling. Signs of trouble appear from the sidelines. An isolated player, naked, nervous, the slogan POSITIVE INTENT written on his body in chicken blood, has come staggering through the lines and is being led away under a blanket to a different team at Derbyshire.

Do you recall the early days, when everything was fresh? The initial phase, of pure instinct.

2. Initial Adoration

Cult leaders offer a new start, a brighter tomorrow, support, success together with shared faith in the method.

What was this thing back then? Just men on a balcony enjoying success. Tattoos. Muscles. Determination. Peak performance vibes. Admittedly, England’s players often say they don’t use the label, ironically because if it doesn’t exist, what was that spectacle?

Yet it’s clear what it is. It’s Harry Brook playing a shot so unconventional it has to be pixelated. It’s the thrill of Ben Stokes at his peak, a demeanor suggesting: focused titan, strong features, untamed style, truly contemporary you wouldn’t be surprised to notice and find him positioned on the ground bare-chested holding a fish.

It’s the opener continuing to have permission addressing the media, appearing as a happy little woodland creature in a waistcoat, saying stuff like we’re breaking down traditions. Indeed, the vibe, for a significant period, was uplifting.

3. Expansion Period

Building period. Unity enforced via memorization of mantras. These ideas can appear contradictory to prove commitment.

Does anyone else feel? The criticism, the outrage, the disappointment following the initial loss seems too strong, unwarranted. The batting collapsed in Perth, as is typical there. They were savaged in the field for a couple of hours as plans unraveled, manipulated by the opponent batting like England but better, adaptive to conditions, an athlete shining with aura.

Now there is the criticism, the anger, the perception of the team as a failure. The feeling seems to be that England don’t just need to lose, they must be humbled, to be cleansed, flame-throwered, destroyed by the vengeful purity of the bowler’s action, the conventional tactics of the bowler, out there celebrating achievements with a bashful smile as if receiving a nice new fishing rod. How will they respond?

4. Hate Bonding

Challenges surface due to setbacks. Yet, mistakes are denied. It starts to feed on hostility externally.

Ultimately, a few days before from the second Test, we’ve entered a delicious point of tension in the lifespan of this movement. England could quite easily win in the next Test in a blur of adrenal disruption. Alternatively, failure may follow. And if they do lose it feels like we could be witnessing the decline.

Prior to that, several aspects worth saying regarding this. More than two years ago, at the start, of light and heat, I wrote an article calling it a phenomenon. People were very angry, which was helpful because everyone knows a method to show that it’s not a closed group is if supporters react defensively denying scrutiny of its truths.

What has happened in the last few days is just as interesting. Criticism of the approach has turned into a movement. Online outrage is widespread, critical analysts, pictures of upset supporters abroad disappointed by the short match, similar to timeshare owners seeking justice.

Conversely, there is the broader context of Australia’s more nuanced more culturally hard-wired exasperation with the aggressive tourists, out there saying, your cherished traditions and have developed as one way of separating yourself from the opposition, well, it’s all a bit of a gag after all.

And this is the real point. All movements are similar. The style was a trend as the game has its own culture. In fact, the team has long been exclusive, a clique, a private event, a restricted environment with two hundred years of tradition and mystery behind it. It has long been where influence is guarded. It’s the British pastime of the nation, the early image-makers. And guess what, Britain is itself a cult, a system of unknown levels, a monarchy still exists.

England’s cricketers have been enclosed within this world from a young age. Attempting to break free, to build a better atmosphere, they are simply replicating their past, building another enclosure, a limited community, but doing it this time with a modern squad and a coach encouraging individuality provided you conform.

Live where your feet are. Confront risks. However much you change, things stay similar.

Considering this, it is perhaps the moment to have some sympathy for Bazball, to acknowledge its merits, of which there are many. What is Bazball? Creating a sense of freedom. Questioning traditions. Batting aggressively|Attacking with