🔗 Share this article

The Life Cycle of a Cult is often marked by clear stages.

1. The Core Concept

A charismatic leader or coaches present a revolutionary approach pledging a cure for disconnected individuals.

And so it goes. Plans are in motion to confront the system down in Brisbane. The gunships are circling. Conflict emerges from within. One individual, vulnerable, shivering, the phrase ATTACKING MINDSET smeared across his chest as a statement, has come staggering into view and is taken aside with discretion to a different team elsewhere.

Do you ever miss the early days, when everything was fresh? The days of Bazball 1.0, of uninhibited aggression.

2. Love-Bombing

Team architects promise a fresh beginning, optimism ahead, love, salvation among a group with shared faith in the philosophy.

How did it feel back then? Just men on a balcony feeling good. Body art. Strength. Determination. Confident masculinity. Of course, The team often say it’s not a real term, amusingly since it’s not recognized, what exactly did I just watch?

Yet it’s clear the concept. It’s the batsman attempting a move so depraved it’s beyond belief. It’s the thrill of the captain in ultimate mode, a look that says: focused titan, beard made of wood, hair woven from beaver hide, so authentically Modern Savage you half-expect to notice and see him playing at mid-off stripped to the waist holding a fish.

It’s Ben Duckett continuing to have permission addressing the media, appearing as a cheerful animal smartly dressed, uttering phrases such as we’re challenging norms. Certainly, the atmosphere, for quite a long time, was only good energy.

3. The Growth Phase

Growth phase. Cohesion maintained by rote learning of key phrases. These beliefs are often illogical as a test of “true belief”.

Is it just me? The backlash, the outrage, the disappointment following the initial loss feels overblown, overdone. England batted badly on the field, as history shows. They were dominated in the field for a couple of hours when tactics failed, outplayed by the opponent imitating their style effectively, adaptive to conditions, an athlete shining with a kind of light around him.

Currently, we see the attacks, the anger, the view of the sport as a failure. The consensus is that defeat must be total, they must be humbled, to be purged, flame-throwered, overwhelmed via traditional methods of the bowler’s action, the conventional tactics of the veteran, seen enjoying successes with a bashful smile similar to getting a nice new fishing rod. What will this do to them?

4. Hate Bonding

Problems arise due to setbacks. However, faults are ignored. It turns to anger towards critics.

Ultimately, half a week out the upcoming game, we are at a delicious point of tension in the journey of this movement. England could quite easily win in Brisbane with bold tactics. More likely, they could lose just as quickly. Should they fail it seems we really might be entering the death cult phase.

Ahead of this, a couple of points to note on the topic. In the past, during the initial excitement, of light and heat, I wrote an article labeling it a movement. There was outrage, which was helpful since it’s clear a method to show something definitely isn’t a cult is if supporters respond with anger objecting to the questioning of the philosophy.

The developments in the last few days are equally notable. It seems that hating Bazball has turned into a movement. Social media is furious, angry English pundits, pictures of upset travelling fans cheated out of three days of cricket, reminiscent of people wanting fairness.

On the other hand, there is the broader context of the opponent’s mixed deep-seated frustration towards the unconventional visitors, 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. It’s all cults. Bazball was a cult because cricket is a cult. Or at least, English cricket has always been a cult, a group, an elite gathering, a closed world with centuries of ceremonial past defining it. This has always been where influence is guarded. It’s the colonial game of the nation, the pioneering brand. And surprisingly, Britain is itself a cult, a structure of hidden ranks, a place that literally still has a king.

England’s cricketers have been isolated in this system for years. Attempting to break free, to foster positivity, they are simply replicating their past, building another enclosure, a limited community, however with a new team and a mentor who wants you to be yourself as long as yourself is quite a lot like myself.

Stay present. Embrace challenges. However much you change, you remain stuck.

With this mind, now is the time to have some sympathy for the approach, to recognize its positives, that are numerous. What is Bazball? Promoting liberation. Questioning traditions. Batting aggressively|Attacking with