TEMPERANCE COLUMN.

Otago Witness, Issue 3995, 7 October 1930, Page 75

TEMPERANCE COLUMN.

Published by Arrangement with the United Temperance Reform Council.

THE COCKTAIL HABIT.

There is a tyrant ruling in high places to-day—his name is “ Cocktail.”

Giving evidence before - the Licensing Commission. Lord Astor said the most recent development of drinking was the use of cocktails.

“ The cocktail,” he went on, “ is a new habit, and is apparently growing. It is a habit that has been created by private enterprise because there is money in cocktails.”

“ Alcohol in the smallest quantity dulls the mental faculties and depresses the nervous system.”—Dr Charles W. Cathcart, F.R.C.S. “ Intoxicants are absolutely no use in training. They take aivay stamina and make one unfit for strenuous games.”— Herbert Sutcliffe, Yorkshire County C.C. . “ I am a life abstainer. In all my experience I never came in contact with a first-class athlete who takes alcohol during training.”—Jack Hatfield, swimming champion of England.

THE AUSTRALIAN CRICKETERS. By Bro. J. H. Lear Caton, P.H.S.J.T.. It was May Day. The Worcester County cricket ground is situated on the banks of the Severn, in the heart of the city. On the river side, the snow-white of the plum blossom mingled with the vernal green of the horse chestnuts, and rising majestically in the background was the venerable pile of the cathedral. On the other side, trees were bursting into bud on the rising ground bounded in the far distance by Malvern’s famous hills, reminiscent of the beacon flares which heralded the approach of the Armada, now like dumb sentinels saluting the peaceful invaders from the cricket fields of the Antipodes. Around the fences, five thousand people (I was one) were gathered, among them many boys and older lads. At the wickets were two Australian batsmen. In the field the Worcester County eleven. It was the opening match of the Australian tour. The night before, at the close of the first day’s play, the teams and many famous men in the cricket world had been civieally entertained in the Worcester Guild Hall. That great cricketer and ex-England captain, Mr P. F. Warner, concluding his speech at that function, said that the Australians had started extraordinarily well, and that Englishmen had the greatest possible respect for their prowess, which for over 50 years had won the unstinted admiration of the whole world.

I remember as a boy, hardly in double figures, being taken by my uncle to see the Australian team of 1878, including Spofforth. the demon bowler, acclaimed by some of the greatest authorities as the greatest bowler yet. I have seen every Australian team since that time, and on May Day I was watching the present team. The two batsmen, not out from the previous day, were at the wickets. They were the captain. W. Al. Woodfull, and Don Bradman. Woodfull made 133 and Don Bradman 236. The captain, son of a clergyman, is a schoolmaster in Victoria. -Australia, and he is an abstainer from strong drink, like the captain of Australia in the last test matches down under, Ryder. He is also a non-smoker. Woodfull has been called “the Unbowlable,” from the fact that from 1926 till near the end of the tour of Chapman’s team in Australia in 1928-29. he had the record of batting regularly without once having his wicket touched. Remember the thousands of balls he must have faced, all sorts, breaks and straights, googlies and expresses, and not a single one was allowed to touch his stumps. It represents a wonderful, almost uncanny, coordination of eye, brain, and muscle.

Don Bradman is only 21. He is the wonder of the team, and all boys who play cricket will wish to see him bat if they can get the chance. It was his first innings in this country, and a double century. He holds the world’s record. At Sydney last January he went in first wicket down for New South Wales against Queensland, and when the innings was finished for a total of 761, he was still unbeaten, with a total to his credit of 452. In a letter to the Victorian Tern perance League Bradman said that his favourite form. of refreshment is a cup of tea, that he is a total abstainer, and advises all young Australian cricketers and athletes to adopt the same principles. Before his innings of 452 the record was held by W. H. Ponsford, a journalist, formerly a bank clerk, of Melbourne. He made 429 against Tasmania in 1922, and beat Archie Maclaren’s 424 against Somerset in 1895. Six years later he surpassed his Tasmanian score by compiling 437 against Queensland. Ponsford is also a teetotaller. Another great batsman from the same State as Bradman is Archie Jackson, only 20 years old, called the second Trumper. He scored 164 in his first innings in a test match at Adelaide in 1929. Like Bradman, he abstains from alcoholic drinks. Behind the stumps is W. A. Oldfield, regarded as the finest Treeper Australia has found since Blackham. The man on whom much of the bowlin" success depends is C. V. Grimmett. the googly bowler. The speed merchant is T. Wall, and both come from the same State, South Australia. All these, if my information is correct, are abstainers. In fact, it has been stated in the press that 12 out of the 15 members of the team are teetotallers. Altogether it is a young team, and Australia has pinned her faith to their prowess. We in England will admire their skill; we wish them second best when they meet England, and if they come out on top, we will give them a parting cheer. One thing they teach us, is that the clear eye, the deft movement of hand and arm and limb, the quick judgment, are secured without resort to the drug “ alcohol.” —N.Z. Rechabite.

Don Bradman, the champion cricketer, only 21 years of age, writes:— “Total abstinence from all alcoholic beverages is a big factor in success. The most refreshing beverage of all I find is a cup of tea. Alcohol must necessarily interfere with one’s condition, thereby reducing one’s powers in every direction, so my advice to boys is to leave strvjig drink alone at all times.”