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The Life Cycle of a Phenomenon can be defined by distinct phases.

1. The Core Concept

A dominant personality or figureheads present a new and transcendent idea offering a solution for disconnected individuals.

Thus we find ourselves. Preparations are underway to confront the system overseas. The gunships are circling. Smoke is rising from within. A lone figure, exposed, anxious, the words HIGH RELEASE POINT displayed prominently in chicken blood, has come staggering into view and is taken aside under a blanket for a temporary assignment in county cricket.

Remember the start, when optimism reigned? The initial phase, of Bazball without brains.

2. Love-Bombing

Cult leaders promise a new start, hope for a future, support, success within a community with shared faith in the philosophy.

What was this thing initially? Players celebrating feeling good. Ink. Muscles. Jawlines. Confident masculinity. Of course, England’s players often say they don’t use the label, amusingly as it’s denied, what was that spectacle?

But we know the concept. It’s the player attempting a move so outrageous it has to be pixelated. It’s the excitement of the captain at his peak, a look that says: focused titan, beard made of wood, untamed style, so authentically Modern Savage you wouldn’t be surprised to notice and find him positioned in the field stripped to the waist embracing nature.

It’s the batsman continuing to have permission speaking publicly, resembling a joyful figure smartly dressed, uttering phrases such as we’re breaking down traditions. Certainly, the atmosphere, for quite a long time, was entirely positive.

3. Expansion Period

Building period. Togetherness strengthened through repetition of mantras. These beliefs can appear contradictory to prove commitment.

Is it just me? The backlash, the fury, the disappointment post-defeat seems too strong, too much. England batted badly in Perth, as they often do in Australia. They were dominated in the field during a brief period when tactics failed, carved around by Travis Head imitating their style effectively, adjusting to the pitch, an athlete shining with a kind of light around him.

Currently, we see the pile-on, the frustration, the perception of the team as a disgrace. The opinion suggests that losing isn’t enough, they must be humbled, to be scoured, destroyed, overwhelmed via traditional methods of the pace attack, the conventional tactics of the bowler, marking his wickets modestly as if receiving a pleasant gift. How will they respond?

4. Hate Bonding

Issues emerge from failures in the plan. However, faults are ignored. It begins to thrive on hatred of the outside world.

In truth, approaching the upcoming game, we’ve entered an intriguing moment in the lifespan of this movement. They might succeed overseas in a blur of adrenal disruption. More likely, failure may follow. And if they do lose it appears we really might be entering the final stage.

Ahead of this, several aspects worth saying about this. In the past, during the initial excitement, of passion and hope, I wrote an article suggesting Bazball was a cult. Criticism followed, which was helpful as it’s known how to confirm that it’s not a closed group is when its acolytes send hundreds of furiously one-eyed messages rejecting criticism of the beliefs.

The developments recently are equally notable. Opposition to the style is now the trend. Online outrage is widespread, critical analysts, shots of angry middle-aged supporters abroad disappointed by the short match, reminiscent of investors demanding recourse.

Conversely, we have the wider backdrop of the host’s complex deep-seated frustration at these weirdly passive-aggressive buccaneers, stating, hey, that thing you love and have honed as one way of separating yourself culturally from us, it’s not serious in the end old boy.

And this is the real point. It’s all cults. The approach was a phenomenon as the game has its own culture. Or rather, the sport in England is closed, a circle, an elite gathering, a closed world with centuries of ceremonial past defining it. It has long been where entry is limited. It’s the colonial game of the British, the early image-makers. And surprisingly, the country is a phenomenon, a series of esoteric hierarchies, a place that literally still has a king.

The team have been enclosed in this environment from a young age. Attempting to break free, to create a less brutal environment, they are simply replicating their own experience, forming a new circle, an exclusive group, however with a new team and a leader who wants you to be yourself as long as yourself is quite a lot like myself.

Focus on the moment. Confront risks. But no matter how fast and far you run, you’re always basically in the same place.

Reflecting on this, it is perhaps the moment to show understanding for the movement, to appreciate its good points, that are numerous. How to define it? Encouraging expression. Challenging orthodoxies. Batting aggressively|Attacking with