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The Evolution of a Movement can be marked by distinct phases.

1. The Grand Vision

A charismatic leader or leaders introduce a revolutionary approach that promises a panacea for alienated and vulnerable people.

So here we are. Preparations are underway to challenge the establishment overseas. Tensions are rising. Conflict emerges from the sidelines. One individual, exposed, shivering, the phrase ATTACKING MINDSET smeared across his chest as a statement, has emerged through the lines and is removed under a blanket to a different team in county cricket.

Do you recall the start, when the world was still young? The days of Bazball 1.0, of pure instinct.

2. Love-Bombing

Cult leaders promise a fresh beginning, a brighter tomorrow, camaraderie, salvation within a community with shared faith in the method.

What was this thing initially? Players celebrating feeling good. Ink. Strength. Focus. Confident masculinity. Oh sure, The team will claim it’s not a real term, which is funny because if it doesn’t exist, what exactly did I just watch?

But we know its essence. It’s the player executing a stroke so outrageous it defies description. It’s the excitement of the leader in his final form, a look that says: thoughtful warrior, beard made of wood, untamed style, truly contemporary you almost imagine to notice and see him playing on the ground stripped to the waist embracing nature.

It’s Ben Duckett still being allowed to talk in press conferences, out there looking like a happy little woodland creature in a waistcoat, saying stuff like we’re breaking down traditions. Indeed, the vibe, for quite a long time, was only good energy.

3. Expansion Period

Building period. Unity enforced via memorization of mantras. These ideas can appear contradictory as a test of “true belief”.

Does anyone else feel? The reaction, the anger, the sense of betrayal after the first Ashes Test defeat seems too strong, overdone. The batting collapsed on the field, as they often do in Australia. They were savaged defensively for a couple of hours as plans unraveled, outplayed by the opponent playing aggressively but smarter, responsive to the situation, an athlete shining with aura.

Now there is the pile-on, the frustration, the perception of the team as a kind of abomination. The consensus is that losing isn’t enough, they must be humbled, to be scoured, obliterated, destroyed through sheer skill of the bowler’s action, the low-fi orthodoxies of Scott Boland, marking successes with a bashful smile similar to getting a rewarding prize. What impact will this have?

4. The Backlash Phase

Problems arise from failures in the plan. However, faults are ignored. It turns to hostility externally.

The fact remains, half a week out the upcoming game, we have now reached a delicious point of tension in the story of this movement. England could quite easily win in Brisbane through aggressive play. More likely, they could lose just as quickly. Should they fail it feels like we may see the final stage.

Prior to that, a couple of points to consider about this. Previously, at the start, of passion and hope, a column appeared calling it a phenomenon. Criticism followed, which was helpful as it’s known how to confirm lack of cult status is when its acolytes send hundreds of furiously one-eyed messages denying scrutiny of its truths.

The developments lately are equally notable. Criticism of the approach is now the trend. Online outrage is widespread, disappointed commentators, images of frustrated travelling fans disappointed by the short match, like a room full of timeshare owners seeking justice.

On the other hand, we have the wider backdrop of Australia’s more nuanced deep-seated frustration with the aggressive tourists, out there saying, the methods you value and have developed to distinguish yourselves culturally from us, well, it’s all a bit of a gag after all.

This is the core issue. It’s all cults. The style was a trend as the game has its own culture. Or rather, the sport in England is closed, a circle, a garden party, a closed world with centuries of ceremonial past defining it. This has always been where influence is guarded. It’s the colonial game of the British, the early image-makers. And notably, Britain is itself a cult, a series of esoteric hierarchies, a monarchy still exists.

The players have been enclosed in this system for years. In trying to escape from it, to create a less brutal environment, they are mirroring their own experience, building another enclosure, a closed circle, but doing it this time with a new team and a mentor promoting authenticity provided you conform.

Live where your feet are. Confront risks. However much you change, things stay similar.

Reflecting on this, it is perhaps the moment to offer compassion for Bazball, to appreciate its good points, which are significant. What does it represent? Creating a sense of freedom. Defying norms. Batting aggressively|Attacking with