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The Evolution of a Movement is often marked by specific steps.

1. The Core Concept

A dominant personality or figureheads introduce a new and transcendent idea pledging a panacea for disconnected individuals.

Thus we find ourselves. Preparations are underway to storm the compound down in Brisbane. Tensions are rising. Signs of trouble appear from the sidelines. A lone figure, exposed, shivering, the words HIGH RELEASE POINT smeared across his chest as a statement, has come staggering into view and is being led away with discretion towards an inconclusive loan stint elsewhere.

Remember the early days, when the world was still young? The era of early Bazball, of uninhibited aggression.

2. The Honeymoon Phase

Cult leaders offer a new start, optimism ahead, support, salvation within a community who all believe in the philosophy.

What was this thing initially? Just men on a balcony enjoying success. Body art. Muscles. Focus. Elite male wellness energy. Oh sure, England’s players will claim it’s not a real term, ironically as it’s denied, what exactly did I just watch?

Yet it’s clear the concept. It’s the batsman executing a stroke so outrageous it has to be pixelated. It’s the thrill of Ben Stokes in his final form, an expression conveying: focused titan, beard made of wood, natural look, so authentically Modern Savage you almost imagine to glance over and see him playing in the field shirtless and cradling a wild salmon.

It’s the batsman continuing to have permission speaking publicly, out there looking like a cheerful animal in a waistcoat, expressing thoughts like we’re breaking down traditions. And yes, the atmosphere, for a significant period, was uplifting.

3. Expansion Period

Growth phase. Unity enforced via memorization of mantras. These principles are often illogical as a test of “true belief”.

Is it just me? The reaction, the outrage, the sense of betrayal following the initial loss appears excessive, overdone. The batting collapsed during the match, as they often do in Australia. They were savaged while bowling in a short span as the bowling and captaincy fell apart, carved around by the batsman playing aggressively but smarter, responsive to the situation, a man playing with brilliance.

Currently, we see the pile-on, the frustration, the perception of the team as a kind of abomination. The consensus is that losing isn’t enough, they need to lose righteously, to be purged, obliterated, defeated via traditional methods of the bowler’s action, the low-fi orthodoxies of Scott Boland, out there celebrating his wickets humbly like he’s just been given a pleasant gift. How will they respond?

4. The Backlash Phase

Challenges surface from failures in the plan. But the cult cannot admit errors. It turns to hatred of the outside world.

The fact remains, approaching the upcoming game, we have now reached a delicious point of tension in the lifespan of this movement. England could quite easily win in Brisbane through aggressive play. More likely, they could lose just as quickly. In case of defeat it feels like we really might be entering the decline.

Prior to that, a couple of points to note about this. Previously, during the initial excitement, of light and heat, I wrote an article suggesting Bazball was a cult. There was outrage, which was helpful because everyone knows how to confirm something definitely isn’t a cult is when its acolytes react defensively rejecting criticism of the philosophy.

The developments in the last few days is just as interesting. 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 missing out on play, reminiscent of investors demanding recourse.

Conversely, we have the wider backdrop of the opponent’s mixed more culturally hard-wired exasperation with the aggressive tourists, out there saying, the methods you value and have fostered and nurtured as part of your identity from the opposition, well, it’s all a bit of a gag in the end old boy.

Here lies the truth. All movements are similar. The style was a trend because cricket is a cult. Or at least, English cricket has always been a cult, a group, an elite gathering, a restricted environment with two hundred years of opaque and ritualistic cult history defining it. It has long been where influence is guarded. It’s the colonial game of the British, the pioneering brand. And surprisingly, the nation has its own culture, a series of esoteric hierarchies, a royal family remains.

England’s cricketers have been sealed up in this environment from a young age. In trying to escape from it, to foster positivity, they are mirroring their past, creating another a bubble, a closed circle, but now with a modern squad and a leader who wants you to be yourself provided you conform.

Live where your feet are. Confront risks. But no matter how fast and far you run, things stay similar.

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