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The Journey of a Phenomenon can be marked by specific steps.

1. The Grand Vision

A charismatic leader or leaders present a revolutionary approach pledging a solution for struggling players.

And so it goes. Preparations are underway to challenge the establishment down in Brisbane. The gunships are circling. Conflict emerges from the sidelines. A lone figure, naked, anxious, the slogan POSITIVE INTENT written on his body in chicken blood, has emerged through the lines and is removed under a blanket to a different team elsewhere.

Remember the early days, when everything was fresh? The era of early Bazball, of pure instinct.

2. Initial Adoration

Cult leaders guarantee a new start, a brighter tomorrow, camaraderie, success within a community with shared faith in the big idea.

What did it represent at first? Players celebrating feeling good. Ink. Strength. Focus. Confident masculinity. Admittedly, The team will claim Bazball doesn’t actually exist, ironically since it’s not recognized, what was that spectacle?

Yet it’s clear the concept. It’s the player executing a stroke so unconventional it’s beyond belief. It’s the adrenaline of the captain at his peak, a demeanor suggesting: pensive Nordic god, rugged appearance, hair woven from beaver hide, truly contemporary you almost imagine to notice and find him positioned in the field stripped to the waist holding a fish.

It’s Ben Duckett continuing to have permission speaking publicly, resembling a cheerful animal smartly dressed, expressing thoughts like we’re breaking down traditions. Certainly, the energy, initially, was uplifting.

3. The Growth Phase

Growth phase. Togetherness strengthened through repetition of the cult’s slogans. These beliefs can appear contradictory as a loyalty check.

Am I alone? The backlash, the outrage, the feeling of letdown after the first Ashes Test defeat feels overblown, too much. The batting collapsed during the match, as history shows. They were torn apart while bowling during a brief period as the bowling and captaincy fell apart, carved around by Travis Head playing aggressively but smarter, responsive to the situation, a man playing with brilliance.

Now there is the attacks, the anger, the sense of English Test cricket as a failure. The opinion suggests that defeat must be total, they should be dismantled, to be cleansed, flame-throwered, defeated by the vengeful purity of Mitchell Starc’s movements, the conventional tactics of the bowler, seen enjoying achievements with a bashful smile as if receiving a nice new fishing rod. What will this do to them?

4. Hate Bonding

Issues emerge due to setbacks. However, faults are ignored. It turns to anger towards critics.

The fact remains, approaching from the second Test, we have now reached an intriguing moment in the lifespan of this movement. England could quite easily win in the next Test in a blur of adrenal disruption. More likely, failure may follow. Should they fail it appears we could be witnessing the decline.

Prior to that, a couple of points to consider on the topic. In the past, back in those heady early days, of light and heat, I wrote an article suggesting Bazball was a cult. Criticism followed, which proved the point because everyone knows how to confirm lack of cult status is when its acolytes respond with anger denying scrutiny of the beliefs.

Recent events in the last few days are fascinating. It seems that hating Bazball has turned into a movement. Social media is furious, critical analysts, images of frustrated followers overseas disappointed by the short match, reminiscent of timeshare owners seeking justice.

Meanwhile, there is the broader context of the opponent’s mixed ingrained annoyance with the aggressive tourists, claiming, your cherished traditions and have honed 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. Everything is a cult. The approach was a phenomenon because cricket is a cult. Or rather, English cricket has always been a cult, a clique, a private event, a restricted environment with two hundred years of ceremonial past defining it. It has long been a place where power and access are hoarded. It’s the colonial game of the British, the original sports washers. And surprisingly, Britain is itself a cult, a system of unknown levels, a monarchy still exists.

England’s cricketers have been sealed up in this system from a young age. Seeking change, to create a less brutal environment, they are just repeating their own experience, creating another a bubble, a limited community, however with a modern squad and a leader promoting authenticity as long as yourself is quite a lot like myself.

Stay present. Run towards the danger. But no matter how fast and far you run, things stay similar.

Reflecting on this, it is perhaps the moment to show understanding for Bazball, to recognize its positives, of which there are many. How to define it? Creating a sense of freedom. Challenging orthodoxies. Batting aggressively|Attacking with