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The Journey of a Cult tends to be characterized by clear stages.

1. The Core Concept

A dominant personality or leaders introduce a revolutionary approach offering a cure for alienated and vulnerable people.

So here we are. Preparations are underway to storm the compound overseas. The gunships are circling. Conflict emerges from the out-houses. One individual, vulnerable, nervous, the words HIGH RELEASE POINT written on his body as a symbol, has come staggering through the lines and is taken aside in secrecy towards an inconclusive loan stint elsewhere.

Remember the early days, when everything was fresh? The initial phase, of uninhibited aggression.

2. The Honeymoon Phase

Cult leaders guarantee a new start, optimism ahead, love, salvation together with shared faith in the philosophy.

What did it represent at first? Players celebrating enjoying success. Ink. Forearms. Focus. Elite male wellness energy. Of course, The squad often say it’s not a real term, amusingly as it’s denied, what did we see?

But we know its essence. It’s Harry Brook playing a shot so depraved it’s beyond belief. It’s the adrenaline of the leader at his peak, a demeanor suggesting: pensive Nordic god, rugged appearance, hair woven from beaver hide, truly contemporary you wouldn’t be surprised to notice and notice he’s fielding at mid-off stripped to the waist and cradling a wild salmon.

It’s the opener often seen speaking publicly, out there looking like a joyful figure in a waistcoat, expressing thoughts like we are actively deconstructing the orange. Certainly, the energy, for quite a long time, was entirely positive.

3. Expansion Period

Development stage. Togetherness strengthened through repetition of key phrases. These beliefs can appear contradictory as a loyalty check.

Am I alone? The criticism, the anger, the disappointment after the first Ashes Test defeat feels overblown, unwarranted. The performance was poor on the field, as history shows. They were savaged in the field in a short span when tactics failed, manipulated by the batsman imitating their style effectively, adaptive to conditions, a performer excelling with brilliance.

And now we have this the pile-on, the rage, the sense of English Test cricket as a disgrace. The consensus is that defeat must be total, they must be humbled, to be purged, destroyed, defeated via traditional methods of the bowler’s action, the simple basics of Scott Boland, seen enjoying his wickets with a bashful smile like he’s just been given a pleasant gift. What impact will this have?

4. External Conflict

Challenges surface from failures in the plan. Yet, mistakes are denied. It starts to feed on anger towards critics.

In truth, a few days before the upcoming game, we’ve entered an intriguing moment in the journey of this movement. England could quite easily win in the next Test in a blur of adrenal disruption. More likely, defeat could come swiftly. And if they do lose it appears we could be witnessing the decline.

Ahead of this, several aspects to note regarding this. More than two years ago, at the start, of optimism and energy, an piece was published suggesting Bazball was a cult. Criticism followed, which proved the point since it’s clear the best way of proving something definitely isn’t a cult is should followers react defensively rejecting criticism of the beliefs.

Recent events in the last few days are fascinating. Criticism of the approach is now the trend. Social media is furious, critical analysts, images of frustrated followers overseas disappointed by the short match, like a room full of people wanting fairness.

On the other hand, we have the wider backdrop of Australia’s more nuanced more culturally hard-wired exasperation at these weirdly passive-aggressive buccaneers, claiming, your cherished traditions and have developed as one way of separating yourself culturally from us, it’s just a joke ultimately.

Here lies the truth. Everything is a cult. The style was a trend since the sport itself is insular. Or rather, the sport in England is closed, a circle, a garden party, an insular community with two hundred years of opaque and ritualistic cult history defining it. Historically, this was where influence is guarded. It’s the British pastime of the British, the original sports washers. And notably, Britain is itself a cult, a structure of hidden ranks, a place that literally still has a king.

The players have been enclosed in this environment from a young age. In trying to escape from it, to create a less brutal environment, they are just repeating their own experience, building another enclosure, an exclusive group, however with a new team and a coach who wants you to be yourself as long as yourself is quite a lot like myself.

Stay present. Run towards the danger. But no matter how fast and far you run, you remain stuck.

With this mind, it might be appropriate to show understanding for the approach, to appreciate its good points, of which there are many. What does it represent? Encouraging expression. Questioning traditions. Batting aggressively|Attacking with