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The Life Cycle of a Cult can be defined by specific steps.

1. The Core Concept

A dominant personality or figureheads propose a new and transcendent idea offering a solution for struggling players.

Thus we find ourselves. They’re getting ready to confront the system in Australia. The gunships are circling. Signs of trouble appear from within. A lone figure, exposed, nervous, the slogan POSITIVE INTENT smeared across his chest as a symbol, has come staggering from the field and is being led away under a blanket to a different team elsewhere.

Do you recall the beginning, when optimism reigned? The initial phase, of Bazball without brains.

2. Initial Adoration

Team architects promise a new start, hope for a future, love, success together united in belief in the philosophy.

What did it represent at first? Just men on a balcony feeling good. Ink. Strength. Determination. Confident masculinity. Oh sure, England’s players insist it’s not a real term, which is funny because if it doesn’t exist, what was that spectacle?

But we know what it is. It’s the player playing a shot so unconventional it defies description. It’s the excitement of the captain in his final form, a look that says: focused titan, strong features, untamed style, so authentically Modern Savage you almost imagine to notice and notice he’s fielding at mid-off shirtless embracing nature.

It’s the batsman still being allowed speaking publicly, resembling a happy little woodland creature in a waistcoat, expressing thoughts like we are actively deconstructing the orange. Certainly, the vibe, for a significant period, was entirely positive.

3. The Growth Phase

Building period. Cohesion maintained through repetition of the cult’s slogans. These ideas are often illogical as a loyalty check.

Am I alone? The criticism, the fury, the disappointment post-defeat appears excessive, unwarranted. England batted badly in Perth, as is typical there. They were dominated in the field for a couple of hours as the bowling and captaincy fell apart, manipulated by Travis Head batting like England but better, adjusting to the pitch, an athlete shining with brilliance.

Currently, we see the pile-on, the rage, the perception of the team as a failure. The consensus is that defeat must be total, they need to lose righteously, to be scoured, obliterated, defeated through sheer skill of the pace attack, the simple basics of the veteran, marking achievements humbly like he’s just been given a pleasant gift. How will they respond?

4. External Conflict

Issues emerge due to setbacks. However, faults are ignored. It turns to anger towards critics.

In truth, approaching from the second Test, we are at a delicious point of tension in the lifespan of this movement. England could quite easily win in the next Test with bold tactics. More likely, they could lose just as quickly. In case of defeat it seems we may see the final stage.

Ahead of this, there are two things to consider on the topic. More than two years ago, back in those heady early days, of light and heat, I wrote an article labeling it a movement. Criticism followed, which was helpful 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 is just as interesting. Criticism of the approach has turned into a movement. Online outrage is widespread, critical analysts, images of frustrated followers overseas disappointed by the short match, similar to timeshare owners seeking justice.

Conversely, we have the wider backdrop of the opponent’s mixed ingrained annoyance towards the unconventional visitors, out there saying, hey, that thing you love and have fostered and nurtured as part of your identity from the opposition, well, it’s all a bit of a gag in the end old boy.

This is the core issue. Everything is a cult. The approach was a phenomenon as the game has its own culture. In fact, the team has long been exclusive, a group, an elite gathering, a restricted environment with two hundred years of tradition and mystery behind it. It has long been where influence is guarded. It’s the colonial game of the nation, the pioneering brand. And notably, Britain is itself a cult, a series of esoteric hierarchies, a royal family remains.

The players have been enclosed in this environment since childhood. In trying to escape from it, to build a better atmosphere, they are simply replicating their own experience, building another enclosure, a closed circle, however with a modern squad and a mentor encouraging individuality provided you conform.

Focus on the moment. Run towards the danger. 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 approach, to recognize its positives, that are numerous. How to define it? Promoting liberation. Defying norms. Batting aggressively|Attacking with