🔗 Share this article

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

1. The Grand Vision

A dominant personality or leaders introduce a revolutionary approach offering a cure for disconnected individuals.

Thus we find ourselves. They’re getting ready to storm the compound overseas. Pressure is mounting. Signs of trouble appear from the out-houses. One individual, naked, anxious, the slogan POSITIVE INTENT displayed prominently in chicken blood, has stumbled into view and is taken aside under a blanket towards an inconclusive loan stint in county cricket.

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

2. Initial Adoration

Cult leaders guarantee a fresh beginning, hope for a future, love, salvation within a community who all believe in the method.

What was this thing at first? Just men on a balcony basking in glory. Body art. Muscles. Jawlines. Elite male wellness energy. Admittedly, England’s players will claim they don’t use the label, ironically since it’s not recognized, what was that spectacle?

Yet it’s clear what it is. It’s the player attempting a move so depraved it has to be pixelated. It’s the excitement of the captain in his final form, an expression conveying: focused titan, beard made of wood, hair woven from beaver hide, truly contemporary you almost imagine to glance over and notice he’s fielding on the ground stripped to the waist embracing nature.

It’s the opener still being allowed addressing the media, appearing as a happy little woodland creature formally attired, saying stuff like we are actively deconstructing the orange. Indeed, the atmosphere, for a significant period, was uplifting.

3. Expansion Period

Building period. Cohesion maintained by rote learning of key phrases. These principles may seem irrational as a loyalty check.

Is it just me? The reaction, the fury, the disappointment post-defeat appears excessive, unwarranted. The batting collapsed in Perth, as they often do in Australia. They were torn apart defensively for a couple of hours as the bowling and captaincy fell apart, manipulated by Travis Head imitating their style effectively, adjusting to the pitch, a performer excelling with brilliance.

And now we have this the attacks, the anger, the view of the sport as a kind of abomination. The consensus is that losing isn’t enough, they must be humbled, to be purged, obliterated, defeated through sheer skill of Mitchell Starc’s movements, the conventional tactics of the veteran, marking his wickets with a bashful smile similar to getting a pleasant gift. How will they respond?

4. Hate Bonding

Problems arise because of mistakes. Yet, mistakes are denied. It starts to feed on anger towards critics.

Ultimately, a few days before the upcoming game, we’ve entered a critical juncture in the lifespan of this approach. Victory is possible in the next Test in a blur of adrenal disruption. Alternatively, failure may follow. Should they fail it seems we really might be entering the death cult phase.

Before that happens, there are two things to note regarding this. More than two years ago, at the start, of light and heat, I wrote an article calling it a phenomenon. People were very angry, which was helpful as it’s known the best way of proving lack of cult status is if supporters send hundreds of furiously one-eyed messages objecting to the questioning of its truths.

What has happened in the last few days are fascinating. Opposition to the style has now become the cult. Social media is furious, angry English pundits, pictures of upset travelling fans disappointed by the short match, reminiscent of people wanting fairness.

Meanwhile, we have the wider backdrop of the opponent’s mixed deep-seated frustration towards the unconventional visitors, out there saying, hey, that thing you love and have developed as part of your identity from the opposition, well, it’s all a bit of a gag after all.

This is the core issue. Everything is a cult. The approach was a phenomenon as the game has its own culture. In fact, English cricket has always been a cult, a group, a garden party, a closed world with two hundred years of opaque and ritualistic cult history supporting it. This has always been where influence is guarded. It’s the colonial game of the nation, the original sports washers. And surprisingly, the country is a phenomenon, a system of unknown levels, a royal family remains.

England’s cricketers have been enclosed in this environment for years. Attempting to break free, to foster positivity, they are just repeating their upbringing, creating another a bubble, a limited community, however with a modern squad and a coach promoting authenticity as long as yourself is quite a lot like myself.

Focus on the moment. Confront risks. Despite efforts, things stay similar.

Reflecting on this, it is perhaps the moment to offer compassion for the movement, to recognize its positives, which are significant. What does it represent? Promoting liberation. Challenging orthodoxies. Batting aggressively|Attacking with