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The Journey of a Phenomenon tends to be characterized by specific steps.

1. The Big Idea

An inspiring figure or coaches propose a new and transcendent idea offering a cure for struggling players.

So here we are. Preparations are underway to storm the compound down in Brisbane. The gunships are circling. Signs of trouble appear from the sidelines. An isolated player, exposed, nervous, the words HIGH RELEASE POINT smeared across his chest as a symbol, has come staggering into view and is removed in secrecy to a different team in county cricket.

Do you ever miss the beginning, when optimism reigned? The initial phase, of pure instinct.

2. The Honeymoon Phase

Cult leaders offer a reboot, optimism ahead, support, salvation among a group with shared faith in the philosophy.

What was this thing back then? Players celebrating basking in glory. Body art. Muscles. Jawlines. Elite male wellness energy. Of course, The squad insist they don’t use the label, amusingly because if it doesn’t exist, what exactly did I just watch?

However, everyone understands its essence. It’s Harry Brook executing a stroke so outrageous it defies description. It’s the excitement of Ben Stokes at his peak, a look that says: focused titan, rugged appearance, untamed style, genuinely raw you almost imagine to look down and find him positioned at mid-off bare-chested holding a fish.

It’s Ben Duckett often seen to talk in press conferences, out there looking like a happy little woodland creature smartly dressed, expressing thoughts like we’re challenging norms. And yes, the vibe, for quite a long time, was uplifting.

3. A New Life

Development stage. Cohesion maintained by rote learning of the cult’s slogans. These beliefs can appear contradictory to prove commitment.

Does anyone else feel? The backlash, the outrage, the feeling of letdown after the first Ashes Test defeat appears excessive, overdone. The performance was poor on the field, as is typical there. They were savaged while bowling for a couple of hours as plans unraveled, outplayed by the opponent playing aggressively but smarter, adaptive to conditions, a man playing with a kind of light around him.

Now there is the attacks, the frustration, the perception of the team as a disgrace. The consensus is that losing isn’t enough, they should be dismantled, to be cleansed, obliterated, destroyed by the vengeful purity of Mitchell Starc’s movements, the low-fi orthodoxies of Scott Boland, out there celebrating his wickets modestly as if receiving a nice new fishing rod. How will they respond?

4. Hate Bonding

Problems arise because of mistakes. However, faults are ignored. It starts to feed on anger towards critics.

The fact remains, approaching the next match, we’ve entered a delicious point of tension in the story of this thing. England could quite easily win in the next Test with bold tactics. More likely, they could lose just as quickly. In case of defeat it appears we may see the final stage.

Before that happens, a couple of points to note regarding this. More than two years ago, at the start, of light and heat, I wrote an article labeling it a movement. People were very angry, which demonstrated since it’s clear the best way of proving that it’s not a closed group is if supporters respond with anger objecting to the questioning of the philosophy.

What has happened in the last few days are equally notable. It seems that hating Bazball has now become the cult. Online outrage is widespread, angry English pundits, shots of angry middle-aged supporters abroad disappointed by the short match, similar to timeshare owners seeking justice.

Meanwhile, exists the larger scene of the host’s complex deep-seated frustration at these weirdly passive-aggressive buccaneers, out there saying, your cherished traditions and have fostered and nurtured to distinguish yourselves culturally from us, it’s just a joke in the end old boy.

Here lies the truth. All movements are similar. Bazball was a cult because cricket is a cult. Or at least, English cricket has always been a cult, a clique, an elite gathering, a restricted environment with a long history of ceremonial past supporting it. Historically, this was a place where power and access are hoarded. It’s the imperial sport of England, the original sports washers. And notably, the country is a phenomenon, a series of esoteric hierarchies, a place that literally still has a king.

The players have been enclosed in this environment for years. In trying to escape from it, to create a less brutal environment, they are simply replicating their own experience, building another enclosure, a closed circle, but now with a modern squad and a leader who wants you to be yourself as long as yourself is quite a lot like myself.

Live where your feet are. Confront risks. But no matter how fast and far you run, you remain stuck.

Reflecting on this, now is the time to offer compassion for the movement, to recognize its positives, of which there are many. What does it represent? Encouraging expression. Questioning traditions. Batting aggressively|Attacking with