🔗 Share this article

The Journey of a Cult is often defined by clear stages.

1. The Big Idea

A dominant personality or figureheads introduce a new and transcendent idea pledging a panacea for struggling players.

So here we are. They’re getting ready to challenge the establishment down in Brisbane. The gunships are circling. Conflict emerges from the sidelines. One individual, naked, shivering, the phrase ATTACKING MINDSET written on his body as a symbol, has emerged from the field and is removed in secrecy towards an inconclusive loan stint at Derbyshire.

Do you ever miss the beginning, when optimism reigned? The era of early Bazball, of pure instinct.

2. The Honeymoon Phase

Cult leaders guarantee a new start, hope for a future, love, redemption together united in belief in the philosophy.

How did it feel back then? A team united enjoying success. Ink. Strength. Jawlines. Confident masculinity. Admittedly, The team often say 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 outrageous it’s beyond belief. It’s the thrill of the captain in his final form, an expression conveying: thoughtful warrior, beard made of wood, untamed style, genuinely raw you half-expect to glance over and notice he’s fielding in the field bare-chested and cradling a wild salmon.

It’s the batsman continuing to have permission addressing the media, appearing as a happy little woodland creature in a waistcoat, expressing thoughts like we’re breaking down traditions. And yes, the atmosphere, for quite a long time, was only good energy.

3. The Growth Phase

Development stage. Unity enforced by rote learning of key phrases. These beliefs can appear contradictory as a loyalty check.

Am I alone? The backlash, the anger, the disappointment following the initial loss appears excessive, too much. The performance was poor on the field, as history shows. They were torn apart in the field for a couple of hours when tactics failed, outplayed by the opponent playing aggressively but smarter, adaptive to conditions, a man playing with a kind of light around him.

Currently, we see the pile-on, the frustration, the sense of English Test cricket as a kind of abomination. The opinion suggests that England don’t just need to lose, they should be dismantled, to be scoured, flame-throwered, destroyed via traditional methods of Mitchell Starc’s movements, the low-fi orthodoxies of the bowler, marking his wickets with a bashful smile like he’s just been given a pleasant gift. What will this do to them?

4. The Backlash Phase

Issues emerge because of mistakes. But the cult cannot admit errors. It turns to hatred of the outside world.

In truth, half a week out the upcoming game, we have now reached a critical juncture in the story of this thing. England could quite easily win in the next Test in a blur of adrenal disruption. Alternatively, defeat could come swiftly. In case of defeat it feels like we could be witnessing the decline.

Ahead of this, several aspects worth saying regarding this. More than two years ago, during the initial excitement, of optimism and energy, I wrote an article calling it a phenomenon. People were very angry, which was helpful because everyone knows how to confirm something definitely isn’t a cult is should followers send hundreds of furiously one-eyed messages rejecting criticism of the beliefs.

Recent events lately are fascinating. Criticism of the approach has now become the cult. Online outrage is widespread, angry English pundits, images of frustrated supporters abroad missing out on play, reminiscent of investors demanding recourse.

Conversely, we have the wider backdrop of Australia’s more nuanced more culturally hard-wired exasperation at these weirdly passive-aggressive buccaneers, stating, your cherished traditions and have fostered and nurtured as part of your identity from the opposition, well, it’s all a bit of a gag in the end old boy.

This is the core issue. All movements are similar. The style was a trend as the game has its own culture. Or rather, the team has long been exclusive, a circle, an elite gathering, an insular community with centuries of tradition and mystery behind it. Historically, this was where entry is limited. It’s the colonial game of the nation, the early image-makers. And notably, the country is a phenomenon, 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 build a better atmosphere, they are simply replicating their upbringing, building another enclosure, a closed circle, but now with a modern squad and a leader encouraging individuality as long as yourself is quite a lot like myself.

Stay present. Embrace challenges. Despite efforts, things stay similar.

Considering this, now is the time to have some sympathy for the approach, to appreciate its good points, which are significant. What is Bazball? Promoting liberation. Defying norms. Batting aggressively|Attacking with