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The Journey of a Movement can be defined by distinct phases.

1. The Big Idea

A dominant personality or leaders introduce a new and transcendent idea pledging a solution for alienated and vulnerable people.

So here we are. They’re getting ready to confront the system down in Brisbane. Pressure is mounting. Conflict emerges from within. An isolated player, vulnerable, shivering, the phrase ATTACKING MINDSET written on his body as a symbol, has come staggering through the lines and is removed in secrecy to a different team elsewhere.

Do you ever miss the start, when everything was fresh? The initial phase, of uninhibited aggression.

2. Initial Adoration

Team architects offer a new start, hope for a future, camaraderie, redemption within a community united in belief in the big idea.

What did it represent at first? Players celebrating enjoying success. Tattoos. Forearms. Jawlines. Elite male wellness energy. Admittedly, England’s players insist they don’t use the label, which is funny because if it doesn’t exist, what did we see?

However, everyone understands what it is. It’s the player executing a stroke so outrageous it has to be pixelated. It’s the thrill of Ben Stokes at his peak, an expression conveying: focused titan, rugged appearance, untamed style, truly contemporary you almost imagine to glance over and notice he’s fielding on the ground shirtless and cradling a wild salmon.

It’s the batsman often seen addressing the media, out there looking like a joyful figure in a waistcoat, saying stuff like we’re breaking down traditions. Certainly, the vibe, initially, was uplifting.

3. A New Life

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

Is it just me? The reaction, the anger, the feeling of letdown after the first Ashes Test defeat feels overblown, overdone. The batting collapsed in Perth, as is typical there. They were torn apart while bowling for a couple of hours as the bowling and captaincy fell apart, manipulated by the opponent batting like England but better, adaptive to conditions, a performer excelling with aura.

Now there is the pile-on, the frustration, the perception of the team as a failure. The consensus is that losing isn’t enough, they must be humbled, to be cleansed, destroyed, destroyed through sheer skill of the pace attack, the low-fi orthodoxies of the veteran, seen enjoying successes modestly like he’s just been given a nice new fishing rod. What will this do to them?

4. External Conflict

Problems arise from failures in the plan. However, faults are ignored. It starts to feed on anger towards critics.

In truth, a few days before the upcoming game, we’ve entered a critical juncture in the story of this movement. They might succeed in Brisbane in a blur of adrenal disruption. More likely, they could lose just as quickly. In case of defeat it appears we may see the death cult phase.

Prior to that, several aspects to note regarding this. More than two years ago, during the initial excitement, of passion and hope, an piece was published suggesting Bazball was a cult. Criticism followed, which was helpful because everyone knows how to confirm that it’s not a closed group is should followers react defensively objecting to the questioning of its truths.

The developments recently are equally notable. Criticism of the approach has turned into a movement. We have a uniformly angry internet, disappointed commentators, pictures of upset travelling fans missing out on play, reminiscent of people wanting fairness.

On the other hand, there is the broader context of the opponent’s mixed more culturally hard-wired exasperation towards the unconventional visitors, stating, hey, that thing you love and have fostered and nurtured to distinguish yourselves from the opposition, it’s just a joke after all.

This is the core issue. Everything is a cult. The approach was a phenomenon because cricket is a cult. In fact, English cricket has always been a cult, a group, a garden party, a closed world with two hundred years of tradition and mystery supporting it. This has always been where entry is limited. It’s the colonial game of the British, the early image-makers. And notably, the country is a phenomenon, a system of unknown levels, a royal family remains.

The players have been enclosed within this world since childhood. Seeking change, to create a less brutal environment, they are just repeating their own experience, building another enclosure, a limited community, but now with 15 cool guys and a coach encouraging individuality if you fit the mold.

Live where your feet are. Confront risks. Despite efforts, you’re always basically in the same place.

With this mind, it is perhaps the moment to show understanding for the approach, to recognize its positives, which are significant. How to define it? Encouraging expression. Questioning traditions. Batting aggressively|Attacking with