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The Life Cycle of a Phenomenon tends to be marked by distinct phases.

1. The Grand Vision

A dominant personality or figureheads introduce an innovative concept pledging a solution for disconnected individuals.

And so it goes. Plans are in motion to confront the system overseas. Pressure is mounting. Signs of trouble appear from within. An isolated player, vulnerable, shivering, the phrase ATTACKING MINDSET written on his body as a symbol, has come staggering from the field and is taken aside under a blanket towards an inconclusive loan stint elsewhere.

Do you recall the early days, when everything was fresh? The initial phase, of Bazball without brains.

2. The Honeymoon Phase

Team architects offer a reboot, optimism ahead, love, success within a community who all believe in the philosophy.

What did it represent initially? A team united enjoying success. Tattoos. Strength. Jawlines. Peak performance vibes. Admittedly, England’s players will claim Bazball doesn’t actually exist, amusingly since it’s not recognized, what did we see?

Yet it’s clear the concept. It’s the batsman playing a shot so depraved it has to be pixelated. It’s the thrill of the leader in ultimate mode, an expression conveying: focused titan, beard made of wood, untamed style, genuinely raw you wouldn’t be surprised to look down and notice he’s fielding on the ground shirtless and cradling a wild salmon.

It’s the batsman often seen speaking publicly, appearing as a joyful figure in a waistcoat, expressing thoughts like we are actively deconstructing the orange. Indeed, the energy, for a significant period, was only good energy.

3. A New Life

Building period. Cohesion maintained via memorization of the cult’s slogans. These ideas may seem irrational as a test of “true belief”.

Is it just me? The backlash, the anger, the feeling of letdown after the first Ashes Test defeat seems too strong, overdone. The performance was poor in Perth, as is typical there. They were torn apart defensively for a couple of hours as the bowling and captaincy fell apart, carved around by the opponent playing aggressively but smarter, adjusting to the pitch, a performer excelling with aura.

And now we have this the pile-on, the anger, the view of the sport as a failure. The consensus is that defeat must be total, they need to lose righteously, to be purged, destroyed, destroyed via traditional methods of the bowler’s action, the low-fi orthodoxies of the bowler, out there celebrating his wickets with a bashful smile like he’s just been given a rewarding prize. What will this do to them?

4. External Conflict

Problems arise due to setbacks. Yet, mistakes are denied. It starts to feed on hostility externally.

Ultimately, half a week out the next match, we’ve entered a critical juncture in the lifespan of this approach. They might succeed overseas in a blur of adrenal disruption. Probably, defeat could come swiftly. In case of defeat it appears we could be witnessing the final stage.

Before that happens, there are two things to consider about this. More than two years ago, at the start, of optimism and energy, a column appeared suggesting Bazball was a cult. There was outrage, which proved the point since it’s clear the best way of proving something definitely isn’t a cult is when its acolytes react defensively objecting to the questioning of the philosophy.

The developments recently are equally notable. Criticism of the approach is now the trend. Online outrage is widespread, angry English pundits, images of frustrated supporters abroad disappointed by the short match, reminiscent of investors demanding recourse.

On the other hand, we have the wider backdrop of the host’s complex more culturally hard-wired exasperation with the aggressive tourists, out there saying, hey, that thing you love and have fostered and nurtured to distinguish yourselves from the opposition, it’s not serious ultimately.

And this is the real point. All movements are similar. Bazball was a cult because cricket is a cult. Or rather, the team has long been exclusive, a group, a private event, an insular community with centuries of opaque and ritualistic cult history defining it. This has always been where entry is limited. It’s the colonial game of England, the early image-makers. And guess what, the nation has its own culture, a system of unknown levels, a place that literally still has a king.

The team have been sealed up in this system since childhood. Seeking change, to build a better atmosphere, they are mirroring their own experience, building another enclosure, a limited community, but now with a new team and a mentor promoting authenticity provided you conform.

Stay present. Confront risks. However much you change, you remain stuck.

Reflecting on this, it is perhaps the moment to offer compassion for the approach, to recognize its positives, that are numerous. What is Bazball? Promoting liberation. Challenging orthodoxies. Batting aggressively|Attacking with