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

1. The Grand Vision

A dominant personality or leaders propose an innovative concept that promises a panacea for alienated and vulnerable people.

And so it goes. Preparations are underway to storm the compound in Australia. Pressure is mounting. Conflict emerges from the sidelines. An isolated player, vulnerable, nervous, the words HIGH RELEASE POINT written on his body as a statement, has stumbled into view and is taken aside in secrecy towards an inconclusive loan stint elsewhere.

Do you ever miss the early days, when optimism reigned? The initial phase, of uninhibited aggression.

2. Love-Bombing

Cult leaders guarantee a fresh beginning, optimism ahead, love, success within a community with shared faith in the philosophy.

What was this thing initially? Players celebrating feeling good. Tattoos. Muscles. Determination. Peak performance vibes. Admittedly, England’s players will claim they don’t use the label, amusingly since it’s not recognized, what exactly did I just watch?

However, everyone understands its essence. It’s the batsman playing a shot so unconventional it defies description. It’s the thrill of Ben Stokes at his peak, an expression conveying: focused titan, rugged appearance, hair woven from beaver hide, so authentically Modern Savage you wouldn’t be surprised to notice and find him positioned in the field stripped to the waist embracing nature.

It’s the batsman continuing to have permission to talk in press conferences, out there looking like a cheerful animal in a waistcoat, uttering phrases such as we’re breaking down traditions. Indeed, the atmosphere, for a significant period, was only good energy.

3. A New Life

Growth phase. Cohesion maintained via memorization of key phrases. These beliefs are often illogical as a loyalty check.

Am I alone? The criticism, the outrage, the disappointment post-defeat seems too strong, unwarranted. The batting collapsed on the field, as history shows. They were savaged in the field in a short span as the bowling and captaincy fell apart, carved around by the batsman batting like England but better, adaptive to conditions, a performer excelling with aura.

And now we have this the criticism, the rage, the perception of the team as a kind of abomination. The opinion suggests that defeat must be total, they should be dismantled, to be scoured, flame-throwered, overwhelmed by the vengeful purity of the bowler’s action, the low-fi orthodoxies of the veteran, out there celebrating achievements modestly like he’s just been given a rewarding prize. What impact will this have?

4. Hate Bonding

Problems arise because of mistakes. However, faults are ignored. It begins to thrive on hatred of the outside world.

Ultimately, a few days before the next match, we’ve entered a delicious point of tension in the story of this movement. Victory is possible in the next Test in a blur of adrenal disruption. More likely, defeat could come swiftly. Should they fail it feels like we may see the decline.

Prior to that, a couple of points to note about this. Previously, at the start, of light and heat, an piece was published calling it a phenomenon. There was outrage, which demonstrated because everyone knows a method to show lack of cult status is should followers react defensively denying scrutiny of its truths.

What has happened lately are fascinating. Criticism of the approach is now the trend. Social media is furious, disappointed commentators, images of frustrated travelling fans disappointed by the short match, like a room full of investors demanding recourse.

Meanwhile, we have the wider backdrop of Australia’s more nuanced ingrained annoyance towards the unconventional visitors, out there saying, your cherished traditions and have fostered and nurtured to distinguish yourselves from the opposition, well, it’s all a bit of a gag ultimately.

And this is the real point. Everything is a cult. The approach was a phenomenon because cricket is a cult. Or at least, English cricket has always been a cult, a group, a private event, an insular community with two hundred years of tradition and mystery supporting it. This has always been where entry is limited. It’s the imperial sport of the nation, the pioneering brand. And notably, the country is a phenomenon, a series of esoteric hierarchies, a monarchy still exists.

The team have been enclosed in this system from a young age. In trying to escape from it, to build a better atmosphere, they are mirroring their past, creating another a bubble, a limited community, however with a modern squad and a leader who wants you to be yourself as long as yourself is quite a lot like myself.

Live where your feet are. Embrace challenges. But no matter how fast and far you run, you’re always basically in the same place.

Reflecting on this, now is the time to show understanding for the approach, to recognize its positives, which are significant. What is Bazball? Creating a sense of freedom. Defying norms. Batting aggressively|Attacking with