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The Journey of a Cult can be marked by clear stages.

1. The Grand Vision

A charismatic leader or figureheads introduce a revolutionary approach offering a solution for disconnected individuals.

And so it goes. Preparations are underway to storm the compound down in Brisbane. Pressure is mounting. Smoke is rising from within. One individual, exposed, nervous, the words HIGH RELEASE POINT written on his body in chicken blood, has come staggering from the field and is removed under a blanket towards an inconclusive loan stint elsewhere.

Do you recall the beginning, when everything was fresh? The days of Bazball 1.0, of uninhibited aggression.

2. The Honeymoon Phase

Movement founders promise a fresh beginning, optimism ahead, love, redemption together with shared faith in the method.

What was this thing initially? Players celebrating feeling good. Ink. Muscles. Determination. Confident masculinity. Of course, England’s players will claim it’s not a real term, amusingly because if it doesn’t exist, what exactly did I just watch?

Yet it’s clear its essence. It’s Harry Brook executing a stroke so depraved it defies description. It’s the adrenaline of the captain at his peak, a look that says: thoughtful warrior, rugged appearance, natural look, genuinely raw you almost imagine to notice and notice he’s fielding on the ground bare-chested embracing nature.

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

3. The Growth Phase

Development stage. Cohesion maintained through repetition of mantras. These beliefs may seem irrational as a test of “true belief”.

Am I alone? The reaction, the outrage, the disappointment following the initial loss appears excessive, overdone. The batting collapsed in Perth, as they often do in Australia. They were savaged in the field in a short span as plans unraveled, manipulated by the batsman batting like England but better, adjusting to the pitch, a man playing with a kind of light around him.

Now there is the attacks, the rage, the perception of the team as a failure. The opinion suggests that losing isn’t enough, they must be humbled, to be purged, flame-throwered, defeated through sheer skill of the pace attack, the conventional tactics of Scott Boland, seen enjoying his wickets humbly like he’s just been given a pleasant gift. What impact will this have?

4. Hate Bonding

Issues emerge because of mistakes. However, faults are ignored. It turns to hostility externally.

The fact remains, approaching from the second Test, we have now reached a delicious point of tension in the journey of this movement. They might succeed in Brisbane through aggressive play. More likely, they could lose just as quickly. And if they do lose it appears we may see the final stage.

Prior to that, several aspects worth saying about this. In the past, back in those heady early days, of passion and hope, a column appeared calling it a phenomenon. There was outrage, which demonstrated because everyone knows how to confirm something definitely isn’t a cult is when its acolytes send hundreds of furiously one-eyed messages objecting to the questioning of its truths.

What has happened in the last few days are fascinating. It seems that hating Bazball is now the trend. We have a uniformly angry internet, angry English pundits, pictures of upset travelling fans missing out on play, similar to people wanting fairness.

On the other hand, there is the broader context of the opponent’s mixed ingrained annoyance with the aggressive tourists, claiming, the methods you value and have honed as one way of separating yourself from others, well, it’s all a bit of a gag after all.

This is the core issue. Everything is a cult. The approach was a phenomenon since the sport itself is insular. In fact, the sport in England is closed, a circle, a private event, a restricted environment with two hundred years of opaque and ritualistic cult history behind it. This has always been a place where power and access are hoarded. It’s the imperial sport of the nation, the early image-makers. And surprisingly, the nation has its own culture, a system of unknown levels, a royal family remains.

The team have been enclosed within this world from a young age. Attempting to break free, to foster positivity, they are mirroring their own experience, building another enclosure, a closed circle, however with a new team and a coach encouraging individuality provided you conform.

Focus on the moment. Embrace challenges. However much you change, you’re always basically in the same place.

Reflecting on this, it is perhaps the moment to offer compassion for the approach, to acknowledge its merits, that are numerous. What does it represent? Encouraging expression. Challenging orthodoxies. Batting aggressively|Attacking with