🔗 Share this article

The Life Cycle of a Phenomenon can be defined by clear stages.

1. The Big Idea

A dominant personality or leaders present an innovative concept offering a panacea for struggling players.

So here we are. Plans are in motion to challenge the establishment overseas. Pressure is mounting. Smoke is rising from the out-houses. A lone figure, naked, nervous, the slogan POSITIVE INTENT smeared across his chest as a statement, has emerged from the field and is taken aside in secrecy towards an inconclusive loan stint in county cricket.

Do you recall the start, when everything was fresh? The era of early Bazball, of pure instinct.

2. The Honeymoon Phase

Movement founders promise a fresh beginning, optimism ahead, love, success among a group who all believe in the philosophy.

How did it feel at first? A team united basking in glory. Body art. Forearms. Determination. Confident masculinity. Admittedly, England’s players often say Bazball doesn’t actually exist, which is funny because if it doesn’t exist, what exactly did I just watch?

Yet it’s clear its essence. It’s the player playing a shot so depraved it’s beyond belief. It’s the excitement of Ben Stokes in his final form, a demeanor suggesting: thoughtful warrior, strong features, hair woven from beaver hide, truly contemporary you half-expect to notice and find him positioned in the field shirtless embracing nature.

It’s Ben Duckett still being allowed speaking publicly, appearing as a happy little woodland creature in a waistcoat, uttering phrases such as we’re challenging norms. Certainly, the atmosphere, initially, was only good energy.

3. Expansion Period

Growth phase. Togetherness strengthened by rote learning of mantras. These ideas are often illogical as a test of “true belief”.

Is it just me? The backlash, the fury, the feeling of letdown post-defeat feels overblown, overdone. The performance was poor on the field, 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 Travis Head imitating their style effectively, adjusting to the pitch, a man playing with aura.

And now we have this the criticism, the anger, the perception of the team as a failure. The feeling seems to be that losing isn’t enough, they need to lose righteously, to be scoured, flame-throwered, overwhelmed via traditional methods of the bowler’s action, the conventional tactics of the bowler, seen enjoying achievements with a bashful smile similar to getting a pleasant gift. What will this do to them?

4. The Backlash Phase

Problems arise because of mistakes. But the cult cannot admit errors. It turns to hatred of the outside world.

Ultimately, half a week out the next match, we are at a critical juncture in the lifespan of this thing. Victory is possible overseas in a blur of adrenal disruption. Alternatively, defeat could come swiftly. Should they fail it feels like we really might be entering the death cult phase.

Prior to that, there are two things to note about this. In the past, at the start, of light and heat, an piece was published suggesting Bazball was a cult. Criticism followed, which demonstrated because everyone knows the best way of proving lack of cult status is when its acolytes react defensively denying scrutiny of the beliefs.

Recent events recently are fascinating. It seems that hating Bazball is now the trend. We have a uniformly angry internet, disappointed commentators, images of frustrated travelling fans disappointed by the short match, like a room full of timeshare owners seeking justice.

Meanwhile, there is the broader context of the host’s complex more culturally hard-wired exasperation towards the unconventional visitors, claiming, your cherished traditions and have developed as part of your identity from others, well, it’s all a bit of a gag ultimately.

Here lies the truth. All movements are similar. The approach was a phenomenon as the game has its own culture. Or at least, the team has long been exclusive, a clique, an elite gathering, an insular community with two hundred years of opaque and ritualistic cult history supporting it. It has long been a place where power and access are hoarded. It’s the British pastime of England, the early image-makers. And guess what, the nation has its own culture, a system of unknown levels, a royal family remains.

England’s cricketers have been sealed up in this environment for years. Seeking change, to foster positivity, they are simply replicating their own experience, building another enclosure, a closed circle, however with a modern squad and a coach promoting authenticity as long as yourself is quite a lot like myself.

Stay present. Embrace challenges. However much you change, you remain stuck.

With this mind, now is the time to show understanding for the approach, to recognize its positives, that are numerous. What does it represent? Promoting liberation. Challenging orthodoxies. Batting aggressively|Attacking with