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The Journey of a Cult can be defined by specific steps.

1. The Big Idea

A charismatic leader or figureheads introduce an innovative concept that promises a cure for struggling players.

Thus we find ourselves. Plans are in motion to storm the compound in Australia. Tensions are rising. Smoke is rising from within. A lone figure, naked, shivering, the phrase ATTACKING MINDSET smeared across his chest as a statement, has emerged into view and is taken aside in secrecy to a different team elsewhere.

Do you ever miss the start, when optimism reigned? The days of Bazball 1.0, of uninhibited aggression.

2. Love-Bombing

Movement founders guarantee a new start, a brighter tomorrow, camaraderie, success within a community with shared faith in the method.

How did it feel at first? A team united basking in glory. Ink. Muscles. Focus. Elite male wellness energy. Of course, The team will claim they don’t use the label, which is funny because if it doesn’t exist, what did we see?

However, everyone understands its essence. It’s the player executing a stroke so unconventional it has to be pixelated. It’s the thrill of the captain in his final form, a look that says: thoughtful warrior, rugged appearance, natural look, so authentically Modern Savage you half-expect to notice and notice he’s fielding at mid-off stripped to the waist holding a fish.

It’s the batsman still being allowed addressing the media, appearing as a joyful figure formally attired, expressing thoughts like we’re breaking down traditions. Certainly, the atmosphere, for a significant period, was only good energy.

3. The Growth Phase

Growth phase. Togetherness strengthened through repetition of key phrases. These beliefs may seem irrational as a test of “true belief”.

Am I alone? The backlash, the fury, the disappointment post-defeat appears excessive, too much. The performance was poor on the field, as they often do in Australia. They were dominated while bowling during a brief period as the bowling and captaincy fell apart, manipulated by the batsman batting like England but better, adjusting to the pitch, an athlete shining with brilliance.

And now we have this the pile-on, the anger, the perception of the team as a failure. The feeling seems to be that defeat must be total, they need to lose righteously, to be purged, flame-throwered, defeated by the vengeful purity of Mitchell Starc’s movements, the conventional tactics of the bowler, out there celebrating successes humbly like he’s just been given a rewarding prize. What will this do to them?

4. The Backlash Phase

Problems arise because of mistakes. Yet, mistakes are denied. It starts to feed on hatred of the outside world.

Ultimately, half a week out the upcoming game, we are at an intriguing moment in the story of this movement. Victory is possible overseas through aggressive play. More likely, failure may follow. In case of defeat it feels like we may see the decline.

Ahead of this, a couple of points worth saying on the topic. More than two years ago, at the start, of light and heat, I wrote an article suggesting Bazball was a cult. People were very angry, which was helpful because everyone knows how to confirm lack of cult status is should followers send hundreds of furiously one-eyed messages denying scrutiny of the beliefs.

Recent events in the last few days are fascinating. Opposition to the style has turned into a movement. We have a uniformly angry internet, angry English pundits, shots of angry middle-aged travelling fans cheated out of three days of cricket, like a room full of investors demanding recourse.

Meanwhile, there is the broader context of Australia’s more nuanced more culturally hard-wired exasperation at these weirdly passive-aggressive buccaneers, stating, hey, that thing you love and have fostered and nurtured as part of your identity from others, it’s not serious in the end old boy.

This is the core issue. Everything is a cult. Bazball was a cult because cricket is a cult. Or at least, the team has long been exclusive, a clique, a private event, a closed world with a long history of ceremonial past behind it. This has always been a place where power and access are hoarded. It’s the colonial game of the nation, the early image-makers. And notably, the nation has its own culture, a structure of hidden ranks, a place that literally still has a king.

The team have been sealed up in this environment since childhood. Attempting to break free, to build a better atmosphere, they are mirroring their own experience, building another enclosure, an exclusive group, but doing it this time with 15 cool guys and a coach who wants you to be yourself if you fit the mold.

Stay present. Confront risks. But no matter how fast and far you run, you’re always basically in the same place.

Reflecting on this, it is perhaps the moment to offer compassion for Bazball, to recognize its positives, of which there are many. How to define it? Encouraging expression. Questioning traditions. Batting aggressively|Attacking with