🔗 Share this article

The Life Cycle of a Phenomenon tends to be defined by specific steps.

1. The Grand Vision

An inspiring figure or coaches introduce an innovative concept pledging a panacea for alienated and vulnerable people.

And so it goes. Plans are in motion to confront the system in Australia. Tensions are rising. Signs of trouble appear from the sidelines. One individual, vulnerable, anxious, the phrase ATTACKING MINDSET smeared across his chest as a statement, has emerged from the field and is removed under a blanket to a different team at Derbyshire.

Do you ever miss the beginning, when the world was still young? The initial phase, of pure instinct.

2. The Honeymoon Phase

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

What was this thing back then? A team united enjoying success. Ink. Forearms. Focus. Elite male wellness energy. Admittedly, The squad will claim they don’t use the label, ironically because if it doesn’t exist, what was that spectacle?

Yet it’s clear the concept. It’s the player playing a shot so depraved it has to be pixelated. It’s the adrenaline of the captain in ultimate mode, a demeanor suggesting: pensive Nordic god, rugged appearance, natural look, truly contemporary you almost imagine to glance over and find him positioned at mid-off bare-chested and cradling a wild salmon.

It’s the batsman often seen addressing the media, out there looking like a happy little woodland creature smartly dressed, uttering phrases such as we’re challenging norms. Indeed, the energy, for a significant period, was entirely positive.

3. Expansion Period

Building period. Cohesion maintained by rote learning of mantras. These beliefs can appear contradictory as a test of “true belief”.

Is it just me? The reaction, the fury, the sense of betrayal post-defeat feels overblown, unwarranted. The batting collapsed during the match, as history shows. They were dominated defensively for a couple of hours as plans unraveled, manipulated by Travis Head batting like England but better, adjusting to the pitch, a performer excelling with aura.

And now we have this the pile-on, the frustration, the sense of English Test cricket as a failure. The consensus is that defeat must be total, they should be dismantled, to be cleansed, flame-throwered, destroyed through sheer skill of Mitchell Starc’s movements, the conventional tactics of the bowler, seen enjoying successes with a bashful smile as if receiving a rewarding prize. What will this do to them?

4. Hate Bonding

Challenges surface from failures in the plan. Yet, mistakes are denied. It turns to hatred of the outside world.

The fact remains, a few days before from the second Test, we have now reached an intriguing moment in the journey of this thing. They might succeed in the next Test with bold tactics. Probably, they could lose just as quickly. Should they fail it seems we really might be entering the final stage.

Ahead of this, a couple of points to note on the topic. In the past, at the start, of optimism and energy, a column appeared calling it a phenomenon. People were very angry, which demonstrated since it’s clear how to confirm something definitely isn’t a cult is should followers respond with anger denying scrutiny of the philosophy.

What has happened in the last few days is just as interesting. Criticism of the approach is now the trend. Social media is furious, angry English pundits, shots of angry middle-aged supporters abroad missing out on play, similar to investors demanding recourse.

Meanwhile, we have the wider backdrop of the opponent’s mixed more culturally hard-wired exasperation towards the unconventional visitors, out there saying, your cherished traditions and have fostered and nurtured to distinguish yourselves from others, it’s just a joke after all.

And this is the real point. It’s all cults. Bazball was a cult as the game has its own culture. Or at least, English cricket has always been a cult, a clique, an elite gathering, a closed world with centuries of tradition and mystery supporting it. Historically, this was where entry is limited. It’s the colonial game of the nation, the early image-makers. And notably, the country is a phenomenon, a structure of hidden ranks, a monarchy still exists.

The team 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 own experience, building another enclosure, a limited community, however with 15 cool guys and a mentor promoting authenticity as long as yourself is quite a lot like myself.

Live where your feet are. Run towards the danger. Despite efforts, things stay similar.

Considering this, it might be appropriate to offer compassion for the approach, to acknowledge its merits, of which there are many. What does it represent? Encouraging expression. Questioning traditions. Batting aggressively|Attacking with