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The Life Cycle of a Movement can be defined by specific steps.

1. The Big Idea

An inspiring figure or coaches propose a revolutionary approach that promises a panacea for alienated and vulnerable people.

So here we are. They’re getting ready to confront the system down in Brisbane. Tensions are rising. Conflict emerges from the sidelines. One individual, naked, anxious, the phrase ATTACKING MINDSET written on his body in chicken blood, has stumbled from the field and is being led away under a blanket to a different team in county cricket.

Do you recall the start, when the world was still young? The initial phase, of Bazball without brains.

2. Love-Bombing

Cult leaders guarantee a fresh beginning, hope for a future, support, redemption together who all believe in the big idea.

What was this thing initially? Just men on a balcony feeling good. Tattoos. Strength. Determination. Confident masculinity. Of course, England’s players often say Bazball doesn’t actually exist, amusingly as it’s denied, what did we see?

However, everyone understands the concept. It’s the player executing a stroke so outrageous it defies description. It’s the adrenaline of Ben Stokes at his peak, a demeanor suggesting: thoughtful warrior, beard made of wood, untamed style, truly contemporary you half-expect to look down and see him playing on the ground shirtless embracing nature.

It’s the batsman often seen to talk in press conferences, out there looking like a joyful figure smartly dressed, saying stuff like we’re breaking down traditions. And yes, the atmosphere, initially, was only good energy.

3. Expansion Period

Building period. Cohesion maintained by rote learning of the cult’s slogans. These ideas are often illogical as a test of “true belief”.

Am I alone? The backlash, the anger, the feeling of letdown post-defeat seems too strong, overdone. England batted badly in Perth, as they often do in Australia. They were savaged in the field for a couple of hours when tactics failed, manipulated by the batsman imitating their style effectively, responsive to the situation, an athlete shining with aura.

And now we have this the pile-on, the rage, the sense of English Test cricket as a kind of abomination. The opinion suggests that losing isn’t enough, they must be humbled, to be cleansed, destroyed, destroyed by the vengeful purity of the bowler’s action, the low-fi orthodoxies of Scott Boland, marking successes humbly as if receiving a pleasant gift. How will they respond?

4. Hate Bonding

Challenges surface because of mistakes. Yet, mistakes are denied. It turns to hostility externally.

Ultimately, half a week out the next match, we are at a critical juncture in the story of this movement. They might succeed overseas through aggressive play. Probably, they could lose just as quickly. And if they do lose it appears we could be witnessing the death cult phase.

Prior to that, a couple of points to note on the topic. More than two years ago, back in those heady early days, of light and heat, I wrote an article labeling it a movement. Criticism followed, which proved the point since it’s clear a method to show lack of cult status is if supporters respond with anger denying scrutiny of its truths.

What has happened recently are fascinating. Criticism of the approach is now the trend. We have a uniformly angry internet, disappointed commentators, pictures of upset followers overseas disappointed by the short match, like a room full of timeshare owners seeking justice.

On the other hand, there is the broader context of the host’s complex more culturally hard-wired exasperation with the aggressive tourists, out there saying, your cherished traditions and have fostered and nurtured as part of your identity culturally from us, well, it’s all a bit of a gag after all.

Here lies the truth. All movements are similar. Bazball was a cult because cricket is a cult. Or rather, the sport in England is closed, a group, a private event, an insular community with a long history of opaque and ritualistic cult history behind it. This has always been where influence is guarded. It’s the British pastime of the British, the original sports washers. And notably, Britain is itself a cult, a system of unknown levels, a monarchy still exists.

The players have been isolated within this world for years. In trying to escape from it, to foster positivity, they are mirroring their upbringing, building another enclosure, a limited community, but now with 15 cool guys and a mentor who wants you to be yourself if you fit the mold.

Focus on the moment. Embrace challenges. But no matter how fast and far you run, you remain stuck.

Considering this, it is perhaps the moment to show understanding for the movement, to acknowledge its merits, that are numerous. What is Bazball? Promoting liberation. Challenging orthodoxies. Batting aggressively|Attacking with