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The Life Cycle of a Phenomenon is often marked by distinct phases.

1. The Core Concept

A charismatic leader or coaches present a new and transcendent idea that promises a solution for alienated and vulnerable people.

So here we are. Plans are in motion to challenge the establishment down in Brisbane. The gunships are circling. Smoke is rising from the out-houses. A lone figure, exposed, shivering, the words HIGH RELEASE POINT written on his body as a statement, has emerged through the lines and is taken aside with discretion for a temporary assignment in county cricket.

Do you ever miss the start, when optimism reigned? The era of early Bazball, of Bazball without brains.

2. Initial Adoration

Team architects promise a new start, hope for a future, camaraderie, salvation within a community who all believe in the big idea.

What did it represent initially? Just men on a balcony feeling good. Tattoos. Strength. Focus. Confident masculinity. Oh sure, The team insist Bazball doesn’t actually exist, which is funny since it’s not recognized, what was that spectacle?

But we know what it is. It’s the player executing a stroke so depraved it defies description. It’s the excitement of Ben Stokes at his peak, an expression conveying: thoughtful warrior, beard made of wood, untamed style, truly contemporary you almost imagine to look down and find him positioned at mid-off stripped to the waist embracing nature.

It’s Ben Duckett still being allowed to talk in press conferences, out there looking like a cheerful animal formally attired, uttering phrases such as we are actively deconstructing the orange. And yes, the vibe, initially, was only good energy.

3. Expansion Period

Building period. Togetherness strengthened by rote learning of mantras. These ideas can appear contradictory to prove commitment.

Is it just me? The backlash, the fury, the feeling of letdown post-defeat appears excessive, unwarranted. The batting collapsed during the match, as is typical there. They were savaged defensively for a couple of hours when tactics failed, carved around by Travis Head playing aggressively but smarter, adaptive to conditions, an athlete shining with a kind of light around him.

And now we have this the criticism, the frustration, the sense of English Test cricket as a disgrace. The opinion suggests that England don’t just need to lose, they should be dismantled, to be purged, flame-throwered, overwhelmed via traditional methods of the pace attack, the simple basics of Scott Boland, marking his wickets humbly like he’s just been given a nice new fishing rod. What will this do to them?

4. The Backlash Phase

Issues emerge because of mistakes. Yet, mistakes are denied. It starts to feed on hostility externally.

The fact remains, a few days before the upcoming game, we have now reached an intriguing moment in the journey of this approach. Victory is possible in Brisbane in a blur of adrenal disruption. Alternatively, defeat could come swiftly. And if they do lose it appears we could be witnessing the decline.

Before that happens, there are two things to note about this. More than two years ago, during the initial excitement, of optimism and energy, an piece was published calling it a phenomenon. People were very angry, which proved the point since it’s clear the best way of proving lack of cult status is should followers send hundreds of furiously one-eyed messages denying scrutiny of the beliefs.

What has happened lately are equally notable. Opposition to the style has now become the cult. We have a uniformly angry internet, disappointed commentators, shots of angry middle-aged supporters abroad disappointed by the short match, reminiscent of timeshare owners seeking justice.

Meanwhile, we have the wider backdrop of the opponent’s mixed ingrained annoyance at these weirdly passive-aggressive buccaneers, out there saying, hey, that thing you love and have honed as part of your identity from others, it’s just a joke in the end old boy.

This is the core issue. It’s all cults. The approach was a phenomenon as the game has its own culture. In fact, English cricket has always been a cult, a clique, a garden party, an insular community with centuries of opaque and ritualistic cult history behind it. This has always been where influence is guarded. It’s the British pastime of the British, the original sports washers. And surprisingly, the country is a phenomenon, a system of unknown levels, a place that literally still has a king.

The players have been isolated in this environment from a young age. In trying to escape from it, to create a less brutal environment, they are just repeating their past, forming a new circle, a closed circle, but now with 15 cool guys and a leader promoting authenticity provided you conform.

Focus on the moment. Run towards the danger. Despite efforts, you’re always basically in the same place.

Considering this, now is the time to have some sympathy for the movement, to acknowledge its merits, of which there are many. What is Bazball? Creating a sense of freedom. Challenging orthodoxies. Batting aggressively|Attacking with