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The Evolution of a Cult tends to be marked by distinct phases.

1. The Big Idea

An inspiring figure or coaches propose a revolutionary approach that promises a cure for struggling players.

Thus we find ourselves. Plans are in motion to challenge the establishment in Australia. The gunships are circling. Conflict emerges from the out-houses. One individual, naked, shivering, the slogan POSITIVE INTENT displayed prominently as a statement, has come staggering into view and is being led away in secrecy to a different team elsewhere.

Do you recall the start, when the world was still young? The days of Bazball 1.0, of uninhibited aggression.

2. Love-Bombing

Team architects offer a reboot, optimism ahead, love, success within a community with shared faith in the method.

What did it represent back then? Just men on a balcony feeling good. Ink. Muscles. Jawlines. Elite male wellness energy. Of course, England’s players will claim Bazball doesn’t actually exist, ironically because if it doesn’t exist, what did we see?

However, everyone understands the concept. It’s Harry Brook playing a shot so unconventional it’s beyond belief. It’s the adrenaline of the leader in ultimate mode, an expression conveying: pensive Nordic god, beard made of wood, untamed style, truly contemporary you half-expect to notice and find him positioned in the field bare-chested embracing nature.

It’s Ben Duckett often seen addressing the media, appearing as a joyful figure smartly dressed, expressing thoughts like we’re breaking down traditions. And yes, the atmosphere, for a significant period, was entirely positive.

3. Expansion Period

Building period. Unity enforced via memorization of mantras. These ideas are often illogical as a test of “true belief”.

Does anyone else feel? The criticism, the fury, the feeling of letdown following the initial loss appears excessive, too much. England batted badly on the field, as they often do in Australia. They were savaged while bowling for a couple of hours as plans unraveled, carved around by the batsman imitating their style effectively, adaptive to conditions, a performer excelling with brilliance.

And now we have this the attacks, the anger, the sense of English Test cricket as a kind of abomination. The opinion suggests that defeat must be total, they need to lose righteously, to be scoured, destroyed, overwhelmed by the vengeful purity of Mitchell Starc’s movements, the low-fi orthodoxies of Scott Boland, out there celebrating achievements with a bashful smile similar to getting a nice new fishing rod. What will this do to them?

4. External Conflict

Problems arise from failures in the plan. But the cult cannot admit errors. It begins to thrive on anger towards critics.

Ultimately, approaching the next match, we’ve entered a delicious point of tension in the journey of this thing. England could quite easily win overseas through aggressive play. Alternatively, failure may follow. Should they fail it feels like we really might be entering the death cult phase.

Before that happens, a couple of points to consider on the topic. Previously, back in those heady early days, of optimism and energy, I wrote an article calling it a phenomenon. People were very angry, which was helpful because everyone knows the best way of proving lack of cult status is when its acolytes react defensively rejecting criticism of the philosophy.

What has happened lately are equally notable. It seems that hating Bazball is now the trend. We have a uniformly angry internet, angry English pundits, pictures of upset supporters abroad cheated out of three days of cricket, like a room full of people wanting fairness.

Conversely, there is the broader context of the opponent’s mixed ingrained annoyance with the aggressive tourists, claiming, hey, that thing you love and have developed to distinguish yourselves culturally from us, well, it’s all a bit of a gag ultimately.

Here lies the truth. Everything is a cult. Bazball was a cult since the sport itself is insular. Or rather, the sport in England is closed, a group, an elite gathering, an insular community with a long history of tradition and mystery supporting it. It has long been a place where power and access are hoarded. It’s the colonial game of England, the original sports washers. And notably, Britain is itself a cult, a system of unknown levels, a monarchy still exists.

The players have been sealed up in this system from a young age. In trying to escape from it, to build a better atmosphere, they are just repeating their own experience, forming a new circle, a closed circle, but now with a new team and a coach encouraging individuality provided you conform.

Live where your feet are. Confront risks. Despite efforts, you remain stuck.

Reflecting on this, now is the time to offer compassion for the approach, to recognize its positives, of which there are many. What is Bazball? Encouraging expression. Defying norms. Batting aggressively|Attacking with