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The Evolution of a Phenomenon can be defined by clear stages.

1. The Core Concept

An inspiring figure or coaches propose a new and transcendent idea offering a panacea for alienated and vulnerable people.

So here we are. Plans are in motion to challenge the establishment overseas. Tensions are rising. Conflict emerges from the sidelines. One individual, naked, nervous, the slogan POSITIVE INTENT smeared across his chest as a statement, has stumbled from the field and is taken aside with discretion for a temporary assignment elsewhere.

Do you recall the start, when everything was fresh? The days of Bazball 1.0, of pure instinct.

2. Love-Bombing

Team architects offer a fresh beginning, a brighter tomorrow, love, success among a group who all believe in the big idea.

What did it represent at first? Just men on a balcony enjoying success. Body art. Muscles. Determination. Elite male wellness energy. Oh sure, England’s players will claim they don’t use the label, amusingly as it’s denied, what was that spectacle?

But we know what it is. It’s the batsman playing a shot so depraved it’s beyond belief. It’s the excitement of the leader at his peak, a look that says: thoughtful warrior, beard made of wood, hair woven from beaver hide, so authentically Modern Savage you almost imagine to notice and notice he’s fielding in the field stripped to the waist embracing nature.

It’s the batsman still being allowed addressing the media, out there looking like a happy little woodland creature in a waistcoat, saying stuff like we’re challenging norms. And yes, the atmosphere, initially, was only good energy.

3. The Growth Phase

Growth phase. Togetherness strengthened by rote learning of mantras. These ideas can appear contradictory as a loyalty check.

Does anyone else feel? The criticism, the outrage, the feeling of letdown after the first Ashes Test defeat seems too strong, too much. England batted badly during the match, as history shows. They were savaged defensively in a short span as the bowling and captaincy fell apart, carved around by the batsman playing aggressively but smarter, adaptive to conditions, an athlete shining with brilliance.

Now there is the criticism, the frustration, the perception of the team as a failure. The opinion suggests that losing isn’t enough, they must be humbled, to be purged, obliterated, overwhelmed by the vengeful purity of the pace attack, the conventional tactics of the bowler, marking successes modestly like he’s just been given a rewarding prize. What impact will this have?

4. Hate Bonding

Challenges surface because of mistakes. Yet, mistakes are denied. It starts to feed on anger towards critics.

The fact remains, a few days before from the second Test, we are at an intriguing moment in the story of this approach. England could quite easily win in the next Test with bold tactics. Probably, defeat could come swiftly. Should they fail it feels like we really might be entering the decline.

Before that happens, a couple of points to consider regarding this. Previously, during the initial excitement, of optimism and energy, I wrote an article calling it a phenomenon. There was outrage, which demonstrated because everyone knows the best way of proving something definitely isn’t a cult is should followers respond with anger denying scrutiny of the beliefs.

The developments recently is just as interesting. Criticism of the approach has turned into a movement. We have a uniformly angry internet, critical analysts, pictures of upset travelling fans cheated out of three days of cricket, reminiscent of timeshare owners seeking justice.

Conversely, there is the broader context of the host’s complex more culturally hard-wired exasperation at these weirdly passive-aggressive buccaneers, out there saying, hey, that thing you love and have developed as one way of separating yourself from others, it’s just a joke after all.

This is the core issue. Everything is a cult. The approach was a phenomenon because cricket is a cult. Or rather, English cricket has always been a cult, a group, a private event, a closed world with two hundred years of opaque and ritualistic cult history supporting it. Historically, this was where influence is guarded. It’s the British pastime of the British, the pioneering brand. And guess what, Britain is itself a cult, a structure of hidden ranks, a place that literally still has a king.

England’s cricketers have been isolated within this world for years. Seeking change, to create a less brutal environment, they are mirroring their own experience, creating another a bubble, a closed circle, however with 15 cool guys and a coach who wants you to be yourself as long as yourself is quite a lot like myself.

Focus on the moment. Run towards the danger. However much you change, things stay similar.

Reflecting on this, now is the time to show understanding for the movement, to appreciate its good points, which are significant. How to define it? Creating a sense of freedom. Challenging orthodoxies. Batting aggressively|Attacking with