🔗 Share this article

The Life Cycle of a Cult tends to be marked by clear stages.

1. The Big Idea

A charismatic leader or figureheads present a new and transcendent idea that promises a solution for alienated and vulnerable people.

So here we are. They’re getting ready to storm the compound overseas. Pressure is mounting. Signs of trouble appear from within. An isolated player, naked, anxious, the words HIGH RELEASE POINT smeared across his chest as a symbol, has stumbled through the lines and is being led away with discretion for a temporary assignment in county cricket.

Do you ever miss the beginning, when everything was fresh? The initial phase, of Bazball without brains.

2. Love-Bombing

Team architects offer a new start, optimism ahead, love, success within a community united in belief in the big idea.

How did it feel initially? Just men on a balcony enjoying success. Body art. Forearms. Focus. Peak performance vibes. Of course, The team insist Bazball doesn’t actually exist, which is funny because if it doesn’t exist, what did we see?

Yet it’s clear what it is. It’s the batsman playing a shot so depraved it defies description. It’s the adrenaline of Ben Stokes at his peak, a look that says: focused titan, strong features, untamed style, truly contemporary you almost imagine to glance over and see him playing on the ground bare-chested and cradling a wild salmon.

It’s the batsman still being allowed addressing the media, out there looking like a joyful figure in a waistcoat, saying stuff like we’re challenging norms. And yes, the atmosphere, initially, was only good energy.

3. A New Life

Building period. Togetherness strengthened through repetition of the cult’s slogans. These principles can appear contradictory as a loyalty check.

Does anyone else feel? The criticism, the anger, the feeling of letdown post-defeat appears excessive, unwarranted. England batted badly during the match, as history shows. They were torn apart while bowling for a couple of hours as plans unraveled, outplayed by Travis Head batting like England but better, adaptive to conditions, a man playing with a kind of light around him.

Currently, we see the pile-on, the anger, the view of the sport as a disgrace. The feeling seems to be that losing isn’t enough, they need to lose righteously, to be purged, destroyed, destroyed through sheer skill of Mitchell Starc’s movements, the simple basics of the bowler, out there celebrating achievements with a bashful smile as if receiving a nice new fishing rod. What impact will this have?

4. The Backlash Phase

Challenges surface due to setbacks. But the cult cannot admit errors. It turns to hatred of the outside world.

The fact remains, half a week out the next match, we’ve entered an intriguing moment in the lifespan of this approach. They might succeed overseas through aggressive play. Alternatively, failure may follow. In case of defeat it appears we really might be entering the decline.

Before that happens, there are two things worth saying regarding this. In the past, at the start, of optimism and energy, an piece was published suggesting Bazball was a cult. There was outrage, which proved the point because everyone knows how to confirm something definitely isn’t a cult is when its acolytes respond with anger objecting to the questioning of the philosophy.

What has happened lately are fascinating. Opposition to the style is now the trend. Social media is furious, critical analysts, images of frustrated supporters abroad disappointed by the short match, similar to people wanting fairness.

On the other hand, we have the wider backdrop of Australia’s more nuanced deep-seated frustration with the aggressive tourists, stating, hey, that thing you love and have fostered and nurtured to distinguish yourselves culturally from us, it’s not serious ultimately.

Here lies the truth. It’s all cults. Bazball was a cult as the game has its own culture. In fact, the sport in England is closed, a clique, a garden party, an insular community with centuries of ceremonial past supporting it. Historically, this was where influence is guarded. It’s the British pastime of the British, the pioneering brand. And notably, Britain is itself a cult, a structure of hidden ranks, a place that literally still has a king.

The players have been isolated within this world since childhood. Seeking change, to create a less brutal environment, they are simply replicating their upbringing, forming a new circle, an exclusive group, but now with 15 cool guys and a leader who wants you to be yourself if you fit the mold.

Stay present. Confront risks. But no matter how fast and far you run, things stay similar.

Considering this, it might be appropriate to offer compassion for the movement, to appreciate its good points, that are numerous. What is Bazball? Promoting liberation. Questioning traditions. Batting aggressively|Attacking with