This is Derbyshire --As the country is gripped by Ashes fever, Jane Goddard looks at a Derbyshire hotel's links to one of our most significant sporting contests.
IT is 75 years since one of the most famous Australian Ashes touring parties, featuring legendary batsman Donald Bradman, visited England.
During their trip, the tourists used The Maynard, in Grindleford, as their base for some of the northern Tests and managed to match their on-field exploits with some less well-documented mischief off-field.
This included batsman Lindsay Hassett smuggling a goat into the bedroom he shared with team-mates Stan McCabe and Bill O'Reilly.
The Maynard was chosen because its location meant it was close enough to reach cricket grounds in Leeds, Manchester and Nottingham but far enough away to escape the noise and clatter of the big cities.
Grindleford also boasted its own train station, just 400 yards from the hotel, which was a key factor at a time when the road network meant train travel was the preferred option.
With war clouds gathering over Europe and the inclement English summer weather playing its own role, the Aussies drew the Ashes series and retained what is probably one of the most famous sporting trophies in the world.
Bradman, later knighted for his cricket successes, had only just recovered from near-fatal acute appendicitis when he was made captain of the 1938 team. The most famous member of that year's touring party, Bradman was, undoubtedly the world's greatest ever batsman. During an unsurpassed career, he scored 28,067 first-class runs at an average of 95.15, and a top score of 452 not out. In Test matches, his average was even better, at 99.94.
Often described as aloof and solitary, he was well- respected by his team-mates and a huge influence on the successful 1938 squad.
But his celebrity status counted for little with team-mate Hassett, whose generous and fun-loving nature made him friends wherever he went.
A tiny man, whose shadow was only slightly longer than his bat, Hassett was known for his self-deprecating quips and practical jokes, which The Maynard witnessed during his stay.
He thought it would be amusing to smuggle one of the many goats which live around the Peak District into the bedroom he shared with team-mates McCabe and O'Reilly.
Legend has it that the team awoke to "unexpected smells and bleating".
The other stand-out player in the 1938 team was Bill O'Reilly, or "Tiger" as he was known, due to his hugely competitive nature and aggression when he bowled.
He was described by Bradman as being the "greatest bowler he had ever faced or watched" and, to this day, is known as one of the greatest bowlers of all time.
With big personalities and such a high standard of cricket, the 1938 series drew huge crowds.
For both Bradman and O'Reilly it was the best tour of their careers, with O'Reilly's effective bowling and Bradman playing the most consistent cricket of his life. Indeed, he described it himself as the best he had ever played.
Due to the war, the Ashes were not contested again until 1946 and did not return to England until 1953.
The Maynard had first played host to an Australian touring party in 1930 and continued to do so every time the Ashes came to England until 1964, when faster road links and air travel reduced the importance of the train. The hotel was also a base for touring parties from South Africa.
It is now owned by the Fretwell-Downing family, who bought the business in 2004.
Professor Anthony Fretwell-Downing said: "The Maynard has always been a place I have visited since being a small child, coming to Grindleford from our home in Sheffield. It has always played a part in the lives of my family and friends.
"We are delighted to have played a part in such a historic event and had the opportunity to welcome a team which comprised some of the best and most successful cricketers of all time.
"Perhaps one day we will be able to welcome some more." Reported by This is 8 hours ago.