🔗 Share this article

The Journey of a Cult is often characterized by distinct phases.

1. The Big Idea

A charismatic leader or coaches propose a new and transcendent idea offering a solution for alienated and vulnerable people.

So here we are. Preparations are underway to challenge the establishment overseas. The gunships are circling. Smoke is rising from the sidelines. A lone figure, exposed, anxious, the slogan POSITIVE INTENT smeared across his chest as a statement, has come staggering from the field and is being led away with discretion towards an inconclusive loan stint elsewhere.

Do you ever miss the start, when the world was still young? The era of early Bazball, of pure instinct.

2. Love-Bombing

Cult leaders offer a fresh beginning, hope for a future, support, success within a community who all believe in the big idea.

What was this thing initially? Just men on a balcony feeling good. Ink. Strength. Jawlines. Confident masculinity. Admittedly, The team insist Bazball doesn’t actually exist, amusingly as it’s denied, what was that spectacle?

But we know the concept. It’s the batsman attempting a move so depraved it has to be pixelated. It’s the excitement of the leader in ultimate mode, a look that says: focused titan, rugged appearance, natural look, truly contemporary you half-expect to glance over and find him positioned on the ground bare-chested and cradling a wild salmon.

It’s the batsman continuing to have permission speaking publicly, out there looking like a joyful figure formally attired, uttering phrases such as we are actively deconstructing the orange. Certainly, the atmosphere, for quite a long time, was only good energy.

3. Expansion Period

Growth phase. Togetherness strengthened through repetition of mantras. These beliefs are often illogical as a test of “true belief”.

Is it just me? The backlash, the anger, the disappointment following the initial loss seems too strong, unwarranted. The performance was poor in Perth, as history shows. They were savaged while bowling in a short span as the bowling and captaincy fell apart, outplayed by Travis Head batting like England but better, adjusting to the pitch, an athlete shining with brilliance.

Currently, we see the attacks, the anger, the sense of English Test cricket as a failure. The consensus is that England don’t just need to lose, they must be humbled, to be purged, obliterated, overwhelmed via traditional methods of Mitchell Starc’s movements, the low-fi orthodoxies of Scott Boland, seen enjoying his wickets modestly similar to getting a pleasant gift. How will they respond?

4. Hate Bonding

Challenges surface due to setbacks. Yet, mistakes are denied. It starts to feed on hatred of the outside world.

The fact remains, half a week out the next match, we have now reached a delicious point of tension in the lifespan of this thing. Victory is possible in Brisbane with bold tactics. More likely, they could lose just as quickly. And if they do lose it seems we could be witnessing the death cult phase.

Ahead of this, a couple of points to consider on the topic. Previously, back in those heady early days, of optimism and energy, an piece was published labeling it a movement. People were very angry, which proved the point as it’s known a method to show lack of cult status is if supporters respond with anger rejecting criticism of its truths.

What has happened lately are fascinating. Criticism of the approach is now the trend. Online outrage is widespread, critical analysts, pictures of upset followers overseas cheated out of three days of cricket, reminiscent of investors demanding recourse.

Meanwhile, we have the wider backdrop of the opponent’s mixed more culturally hard-wired exasperation at these weirdly passive-aggressive buccaneers, out there saying, your cherished traditions and have honed as one way of separating yourself culturally from us, well, it’s all a bit of a gag after all.

Here lies the truth. It’s all cults. The approach was a phenomenon as the game has its own culture. In fact, the sport in England is closed, a group, an elite gathering, an insular community with a long history of tradition and mystery behind it. It has long been a place where power and access are hoarded. It’s the British pastime of the nation, the original sports washers. And guess what, Britain is itself a cult, a structure of hidden ranks, a monarchy still exists.

England’s cricketers have been isolated in this environment for years. In trying to escape from it, to create a less brutal environment, they are just repeating their upbringing, creating another a bubble, a limited community, however with a modern squad and a coach encouraging individuality if you fit the mold.

Live where your feet are. Confront risks. However much you change, you’re always basically in the same place.

Reflecting on this, it is perhaps the moment to offer compassion for the approach, to appreciate its good points, which are significant. How to define it? Promoting liberation. Defying norms. Batting aggressively|Attacking with