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The Journey of a Movement is often marked by clear stages.

1. The Grand Vision

A charismatic leader or coaches propose an innovative concept offering a cure for alienated and vulnerable people.

And so it goes. They’re getting ready to storm the compound down in Brisbane. Pressure is mounting. Signs of trouble appear from within. A lone figure, vulnerable, anxious, the words HIGH RELEASE POINT written on his body in chicken blood, has emerged through the lines and is being led away in secrecy for a temporary assignment at Derbyshire.

Do you recall the beginning, when the world was still young? The initial phase, of pure instinct.

2. Initial Adoration

Team architects offer a reboot, optimism ahead, support, redemption among a group united in belief in the big idea.

How did it feel initially? Just men on a balcony enjoying success. Tattoos. Strength. Focus. Peak performance vibes. Admittedly, The squad insist they don’t use the label, amusingly since it’s not recognized, what was that spectacle?

However, everyone understands what it is. It’s the player playing a shot so depraved it has to be pixelated. It’s the adrenaline of Ben Stokes in his final form, an expression conveying: focused titan, strong features, untamed style, genuinely raw you half-expect to notice and notice he’s fielding in the field stripped to the waist holding a fish.

It’s Ben Duckett continuing to have permission speaking publicly, resembling a joyful figure in a waistcoat, expressing thoughts like we are actively deconstructing the orange. Certainly, the vibe, initially, was entirely positive.

3. The Growth Phase

Growth phase. Cohesion maintained via memorization of key phrases. These principles are often illogical as a test of “true belief”.

Does anyone else feel? The reaction, the anger, the feeling of letdown post-defeat seems too strong, overdone. The performance was poor on the field, as history shows. They were savaged defensively in a short span when tactics failed, manipulated by the batsman imitating their style effectively, adaptive to conditions, a performer excelling with a kind of light around him.

And now we have this the criticism, the rage, the perception of the team as a kind of abomination. The feeling seems to be that losing isn’t enough, they should be dismantled, to be purged, destroyed, defeated via traditional methods of Mitchell Starc’s movements, the low-fi orthodoxies of the bowler, out there celebrating successes humbly like he’s just been given a nice new fishing rod. What will this do to them?

4. The Backlash Phase

Challenges surface because of mistakes. But the cult cannot admit errors. It turns to hostility externally.

Ultimately, a few days before the upcoming game, we’ve entered a delicious point of tension in the story of this movement. England could quite easily win in the next Test through aggressive play. More likely, they could lose just as quickly. And if they do lose it seems we may see the death cult phase.

Before that happens, several aspects worth saying about this. Previously, during the initial excitement, of light and heat, I wrote an article labeling it a movement. Criticism followed, which demonstrated as it’s known a method to show something definitely isn’t a cult is if supporters react defensively denying scrutiny of the beliefs.

Recent events in the last few days are equally notable. Criticism of the approach has now become the cult. Online outrage is widespread, angry English pundits, pictures of upset followers overseas cheated out of three days of cricket, similar to investors demanding recourse.

Meanwhile, we have the wider backdrop of Australia’s more nuanced ingrained annoyance with the aggressive tourists, stating, hey, that thing you love and have honed as part of your identity culturally from us, it’s not serious after all.

Here lies the truth. All movements are similar. Bazball was a cult since the sport itself is insular. Or at least, the team has long been exclusive, a clique, a private event, an insular community with centuries of tradition and mystery behind it. Historically, this was where entry is limited. It’s the British pastime of England, the pioneering brand. And surprisingly, Britain is itself a cult, a structure of hidden ranks, a monarchy still exists.

England’s cricketers have been sealed up within this world from a young age. Seeking change, to create a less brutal environment, they are simply replicating their past, building another enclosure, a limited community, but doing it this time with a new team and a leader encouraging individuality provided you conform.

Live where your feet are. Confront risks. However much you change, you remain stuck.

With this mind, now is the time to offer compassion for Bazball, to acknowledge its merits, of which there are many. How to define it? Encouraging expression. Defying norms. Batting aggressively|Attacking with