Null and Void

We start this week with a look back at the fantastic finalsof the French Tennis Open – with Carlos Alcaraz coming back from two sets down to retain his crown in the men's singles, whilst Coco Gauff won just her second ever Grand Slam title in beating Aryna Sabalenka.In testing condition at Wembley, Hull Kingston Rovers wonthe Rugby League Challenge Cup Final – a dramatic late winner gave them an 8-6 lead over Warrington, meaning that their treble chase is still on. It was a much more one-sided affair in the women's final as Wigan beat holders St Helens42-6.In Rugby Union we have the play off semi-finals, with Bath getting a cracking win over West Country rivals Bristol, whilst Leicester held on bravely against Sale to qualify for Saturday's final at Twickenham.We also have updates from netball, as the top four teams viefor final rankings in the play offs, the men's and women's international cricket and football, golf from Canada-(including Rory McIlroy's driver challenges) and finally an exciting finale to the Women's Tour of Britain incycling.Another cracking episode!

We kick off Episode 201 with a review of the exciting final3-days of cycling's Giro D'Italia where Simon Yates managed to take the crown in dramatic fashion and lay to rest the ghosts from 2018.After he crashed into George Russell in the Spanish GrandPrix, reigning champion Max Verstappen now stands just one penalty point away from receiving a one race ban, and now sits 39 points behind race winner Oscar Piastri in the drivers' championship.In men's and women's cricket England have taken on the West Indies, with both beating their Caribbean opponents, with Joe Root becoming England's highest ever One-Day run scorer.We also have the latest from tennis' French Open, as thatmoves into the business part of the tournament, whilst in the European Rowing Championship Great Britain topped the medal table with 6 Gold, 1 Silver and 2 Bronze.With just one round left of the regular season, Netball's playoff top 4 is already decided, but they will be playing for semi-final rankings this weekend – whilst in Rugby Union the final round saw the top 4 finalised, with a West Country derby between Bath and Bristol to look forward to.Our Football Correspondent Billy Carr joins us for an expertlook back over the season in both the Premier League and Europe, as well as his hopes and very early predictions for next season.

As we celebrate our 200th episode we are joined by tennis coach Justin Cook, from the JC Tennis Centre – to discuss the French Tennis Open that's currently underway in Paris. Justin casts his expert eye over the prospects for both the men's and women's tournaments.As well as tennis, we have the latest from the final weekendin football's Premier League and the race for European places, and also the great win by Arsenal in the women's Champions League final.From Cardiff we have rugby's European finals, whilst inMonaco it was the F1 Gran Prix, and from Italy the latest from Cycling's Giro D'Italia.Outside Europe we have two amazing running achievements –“Hardest Geezer” Russ Cook finishing his run across New Zealand, whilst Will Goodge set a new record, running the 3860 km from Perth to Sydney in just 35 days.We also have golf, rugby league, cricket, netball and lots lots more.A great way to celebrate our double century!

We kick off Episode 199 looking back at the Null & Voidroad trip as Andy & Tony spent Sunday at Wembley, watching Chelsea play Manchester United in the women's FA Cup final. Despite Chelsea winning, the boys had a great day.It was also the men's Cup final on Saturday, with CrystalPalace upsetting the odds in beating Manchester City 1-0 to win their first ever major trophy.We have the latest from Netball's Super League, whereLoughborough won a tense game against leaders London Pulse, to go level with them on points – whilst in Rugby League, leaders Hull KR kept ahead of Wigan with a 34-0 win over Huddersfield.In Rugby Union we talk about Danny Care's retirement after19 years at Quins – as well as who needs what in the final game to make the play offs.We also have the latest from the Giro D'Italia and the F1Grand Prix from Imola, where an audacious overtake by Max Verstappen on the first lap set him up for victory.Our regular guest and golf expert Andy Wild returns to talkabout Scott Scheffler's fantastic win in the 2nd major of the season – the US PGA Championship, as well as sharing the difference that the recent dry conditions in the UK make to how courses are playing at the moment.Another great episode.

We're joined this week by Rick Weatherall who chats to usabout starting playing squash as a youngster and how that led to international honours, a career in coaching and how it paved the way to his current career as a successful osteopath.We also have previews of the Men's and Women's FA Cup finals this weekend, the announcement of the British & Irish Lions rugby tour squad for Australia, and off-field appeals in netball over controversial on-field calls.On top of this we have a range of different sports as wellas our regular features including your contacts and our “Get a Grip”.

We kick off Episode 197 with a look at football-with Arsenal,Manchester United, Spurs and Chelsea all in European action this week. Meanwhile in women's football we are off to Wembley for the upcoming Women's FA Cup Final between Manchester United and Chelsea.In rugby it was a European Semi-final weekend – whereNorthampton Saints upset the odds by beating Leinster in the Champions Cup semi-final in Dublin, whilst Bordeaux beat tournament favourites Toulouse, to set up the final in Cardiff on 24th May. The night before, the Challenge Cup final will take place between Bath and Lyon after they downed Edinburgh and Racing Paris.Oscar Piastri won another thrilling Formula 1 Grand Prix inMiami, taking him to an early season16 point lead over nearest rival, team mate Lando Norris. And in our “Get a Grip” feature we fire a broadside at the ridiculous food and drink process charged at the Grand Prix  and other sporting events.We also have all the latest from tennis, golf, rugby league, tennis, cricket, cycling and the final of snooker's World Championships.

It's always the start of summer when the London Marathoncomes around – and we have the highlights from the race here. A world record number of finishers, a women's only world record for Tigst Assefa and a Scottish women's record for Eilish McColgan, whilst Catherine Debrunner set a course record in the women's wheelchair race and fellow Swiss Marcel Hug won his fifth consecutive men's wheelchair race.England won their 4th Women's 6 Nations Grand Slam in a row, but were pushed all the way in a nail-biting finish, beating France 43-42 to take the title. Scotland surprised Ireland with a magnificent last minute win to finish their season well, whilst Wales take the wooden spoon after a disappointing 44-12 defeat to Italy in Parma.In football it was FA Cup Semi-Finals weekend, where our “Road to Wembley” sides went head to head – with Tony's Crystal Palace winning out over Andy's Aston Villa. We'll now both be supporting Palace as they take on Manchester City (who beat Nottingham Forest in their semi). And in the Women's Champion's League, Arsenal beat Lyon 4-1 in their semi-final second leg, putting them into their first final for 18 years, where they will take on a Barcelona who will be buoyant after their 8-2 aggregate win over Chelsea.In netball there were some tight, high-scoring games as Loughborough Lightning beat Birmingham Panthers 72-68 and Manchester thunder beat London Mavericks 59-54. London Pulse stay top, and unbeaten, following a 67-52 win over Cardiff Dragons.We also have updates from golf, cricket, tennis, rugbyleague, boxing and cycling – before our “Get A Grip” section turns our ire to the Beeb's coverage of the London Marathon!

We have an update on Andy's trip to Leicester to watchEngland's Red Roses win a rugby triple crown against Scotland. With France beating Italy, it sets up a Grand Slam decider between the two sides at Twickenham this weekend.In the European football tournaments, Aston Villa's amazingcomeback win against PSG wasn't quite enough to make the Champions League semi-finals, but Arsenal had a memorable away win over Real Madrid that now sees them play PSG in he semis. In the Europa League Manchester United's 3 goals in extra time cancelled out Lyon's 2 extra time goals to give them an unbelievable 7-6 win. Spurs also made it into the semi finals with a 1-0 win. And whilst Chelsea lost the second leg of their Europa Conference tie, they went through to the last 4 thanks to a 4-2 aggregate score against Legia Warsaw.League leaders Hull Kingston Rovers won the derby againstsecond placed Hull FC in the “Rivals Round” of Rugby League's Super League, whilst Leigh moved 3rd with a win over Warrington, and Wigan beat local rivals St Helens to go 4th. Meanwhile in Netball it was a top of the table clash, with London Pulse beating Manchester Thunder 61-56 to extend their unbeaten start to the season to 5 games.In cricket's Indian Premier League, Rajasthan Royals openerVaibhan Suryavanshi set a record as the youngest ever IPL player. The 14-year old seemed unfazed as he hit his first ball for 6 on his way to 34. And West Indies Women's team missed out on qualification for October's World Cup by just 0.01 runs on net run rate – the first time in over 20-years that they've not qualified.We also have the latest in Formula 1, Golf, Tennis and apreview of this weekend's London Marathon.Our guest slot this week sees the return of HarryBrightmore, who won gold as cox of the GB 8 at the Paris Olympics. Harry joins us to let us know what's been happening since Paris-including his role as a coach at Oxford University. He shares with us what it was like to be working with the squad as they prepared for the Boat Race, as well as what's next in terms of launching his own business.Yet another brilliant episode.

Following Rory McIlroy's thrilling US Masters win, thatgives him the career grand slam of all four major titles, we're joined by golf professional (and regular guest) Andy Wild to give us his expert insights into a fantastic and popular win for the Northern Irishman.In football Liverpool took another step to the PremierLeague title after their close win, whilst title rivals Arsenal were held to a draw. Newcastle strengthened their push for a Champions League spot, as well as giving Andy Null & Void bragging rights with a 4-1 win over Tony's Manchester United.In the Women's 6 Nations England made it 23 games unbeaten with a tough win over Ireland, France kept up their grand slam quest with a win over Wales and Scotland let slip a 12-10 lead in a home defeat to Italy. And in the European Champions Cup, Leinster and Toulouse marched into the semi-finals where they will face Northampton and Bordeaux with the winners progressing to the final in Cardiff.In Formula 1 it was the Bahrain Grand Prix, McLaren's OscarPiastri won, whilst George Russell's Mercedes held onto second despite being challenged all the way by Piastri's team mate Lando Norris.And in Curling, Scotland's Bruce Mouat's rink became thefirst team ever to win four grand slam titles in one season as they beat Swiss Team Schwaller in a repeat of the World Championship final.We also have all the latest from netball, rugby league,tennis and a close finish in this year's Marathon Des Sables. Another fantastic episode! 

It's another fully packed episode this week with 12different sports for us to discuss.Football had a dull 0-0 derby day bore draw betweenManchester City and United, and whilst holders Liverpool's slip at Fulham doesn't seem to have dented their title aspirations, Southampton's loss to Spurs givesthem the unwanted record of the earliest ever relegation from the Premier League. And in the lower leagues we have a fantastic feel good story after a lost American tourist was adopted by Southend fans and became a keen “Shrimper”.In the Rugby League Road to Wembley, Tony's Hull KingstonRovers made it to the semi-finals, but Andy's allegiance now shifts to Catalans Dragons after they beat Salford. Bragging rights will be at stake in the semi-final as our teams play each other on 10th May as they vie for a place in the showpiece final at Wembley.Golf's US Masters takes place this weekend – the first majorof the year, so we have a preview despite the first day of practice being washed out by rain.In Athletics it was the first event of Michael Johnson'sGrand Slam Track competition, where Britain's Matthew Hudson-Smith took the $100,000 Long-Sprint purse for his 1st & 2nd places in the 200m and 400m respectively.We have an update from our previous guest, Olympic RowingGold medallist Harry Brightmore, as he shares insights from his work as a coach with Oxford University Boat Club as they build up to this weekend's Boat Race.And it was Gold in Moose Jaw, Canada for Scotland's men'scurling team. Having struggled through the pool stages, Bruce Mouat's team beat Sweden, Canada and Switzerland in the knock out stages to take the World Championship title.Another amazing episode.

It was FA Cup Quarter Final weekend, so we start Episode 192with an update on how our “Road to Wembley” teams got on, and what that means for who we follow in the Semi Finals.The Women's 6 Nations Rugby had another 3 cracking games. We look back on the action as well as the inspirational story of Abi Burton – who scored twice on her Red Roses debut just 3 years after having to re-learn to walk and talk after being put into an induced coma for treatment for auto-immune encephalitis.In Tennis, Novak Djokovic's defeat to 19-year old JakobMensik in the final of the Miami Open leaves the Serb on 99 career ATP titles, whilst Mensik's first comes just a couple of week's after he nearly withdrew from the first round with injury!And in Winter Sports, Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson wonBritain's first World Championship Ice Skating medal since 1984 by taking bronze in the Ice Dancing in Boston.Another fantastic episode!

We start Episode 191 with all the news from the opening weekend of rugby's women's 6 nations championship with wins for France and England and a very close victory for Scotland.Thomas Tuchel started his reign as England's football manager with two wins from two, whilst Arsenal Women seem to have it all to do in the 2nd leg of their Champions League Quarter Final, after they lost 2-0 in Spain.We have all the latest from the World Indoor Athletics Championships, with golds for GB's Jeremiah Azu and Amber Anning and the 1500m and 3,000m double for Jakob Ingebrigtsen; meanwhile it was the Reading Half Marathon this weekend and former guests of ours Sir John Madejski and Phil Wortley were both involved.There was drama in the first Formula 1 race of the season with Ferrari's drivers Lewis Hamilton and Charles LeClerc both disqualified from the Chinese Grand Prix.Our guest this week is a regular on the pod-normally Andy McMenemy is telling us about his endurance challenge or taking up paddle boarding, as well as sharing the linkages how his professional expertise as a psychotherapist and peak performance coach applies in sport. However Andy's story this week is very different as he tells us about the horrific injuries he sustained in a skiing accident that left him with multiple fractures of his pelvis. As well as talking us through the incident, Andy also shares with us his plans for recovery and how he is applying the mental skills he normally shares with clients to his own mindset as he sets about tackling his rehabilitation.Another fantastic episode.

With our Football Correspondent Billy Carr as guest thisweek, we kick off Episode 190 discussing Newcastle's League Cup win, giving the Magpies their first domestic trophy since 1955, thanks to their fantastic 2-1 win over Liverpool at Wembley.Rugby's Six Nations had a fantastic finale with Italyrunning Ireland close, England putting 68 points on Wales and France securing the title with a win over Scotland in Paris.The reformatted Netball Super League got underway, with new sides Birmingham Panthers and Nottingham Forest in action – and it was Panthers' Betsy Creak who made history with the Super League's first ever two goal supershot after that was introduced for this season.In The Players' Golf Championship at Sawgrass, Rory McIlroyovercame terrible weather and fading light as well as the rest of the field to secure the title – as play continued into Monday and St Patrick's Day to give the Northern Irish man the win. Meanwhile Britain's Jack Draper won his first ATP Tennis Masters Trophy, beating Holger Rune in the Indian Wells final – a result that takes him into the World Top 10 for the first time in his career.Billy Carr then looks back at the League Cup Final, as wellas taking us through what could come in the final 9 games of the Premier League season, the hopes of the remaining English sides in the final stages of European competition, and answers -and asks – questions about Thomas Tuchel's first squad as the new England manager.A great episode.

This week we bring you a sporting first for Null & Void as we cover the Rodeo for thefirst time, following Andy's visit alongside 70,000 other fans in Houston, watching bareback riding, bucking broncos, barrel racing and steer wrestling!We kick off with football, as Liverpool tighten their grip on the men's Premier League,whilst Manchester City go into the women's League Cup Final and FA CupSemi-Final despite having sacked manager Gareth Taylor for “not beingsuccessful enough”.In the 6 Nations Rugby France's victory over Ireland means that they go into the finalweekend as favourites for the title – with England and Ireland still incontention. Scotland's win in the Doddie Weir Cup extended Wales' losing run to16 games, whilst England overcame early injury and a spirited Italy side to runin 7 tries and give fans a glimpse of the running rugby they've been crying outfor.We have previews of both the Formula 1 and netball Super League seasons, with themkicking off in Australia and England respectively this weekend.We also have the latest from Cricket's Champions Trophy Final, Golf from Orlando,Tennis from Indian Wells and multiple medals in Winter Sports from Lake Placid.This week's “Get A Grip” looks at the BBC reneging on its coverage commitments and askswhat is the licence fee for?Feel free to contact us with your comments, questions or feedback vianullandvoidsports@email.com

With Andy working in the USA we have a man on the ground to report on the Rugby League extravaganza from Las Vegas, with sell out stadia and 10,000 fans attending the opening party on Freemont Street.It was FA Cup 5th round weekend, and whilstManchester United and Newcastle both crashed out, we move one step forwards with our “Road to Wembley” teams.England's pitiful dismissal from Cricket's Champions Trophywas all too predictable, also bringing the end of Jos Buttler's time as captain after he resigned following defeat to Afghanistan.Whilst some golfers may be lucky enough to hit a hole in oneduring their lives, in the South African Open Dale Whitnell managed to hit TWO in the same round, a feat that is reported to have odds of 64 million to one against happening.In the Tokyo Marathon, British great Paula Radcliffe had afantastic finish to her first marathon in 10 years as she ran a time of 2 hrs 57 mins. And whilst Radcliffe has won many major titles, men's winner Tadese Takele celebrated his first ever major marathon win as the Ethiopian finished in 2 hrs 3 min 51 secs.Finally in our “Get a Grip” section we look at cycling andhow race organisers and the governing body are risking riders' lives with some of the finishes, as well as the unreasonable attitude to cyclists from other road users in the UK.

We start Epiosde 187 with the question “was this the momentLiverpool won the league?” after their 2-0 win away at Manchester City.We have all the updates from the weekend's 6 Nations rugby,including Ireland's Triple Crown win, England's first Calcutta Cup victory in 5 years and France's high-scoring win in Rome (although not as high-scoring as some media outlets first reported!).This is followed by the amazingly inspirational story ofRichard Morgan, who won a  World Championship Indoor Rowing Gold aged 92, having only taken up the sport when he was 72!We have all the action from Cricket's Champions Trophy,where after just one game England's chances are already in the balance. And we bring you the latest from golf, tennis, rugby league and cycling – where former Tour de France winner Geraint Thomas has announced his retirement at the end of this season.Finally this week's Get a Grip involves the booing crowd atthe Formula 1 season launch event – as ever we offer some forthright barbs to those that, we believe, fully deserve it!

We kick off this week with the latest from football's Premier League, with Liverpool strengthening their title bid, whilst Spurs & Manchester United fought out a scrappy match.In winter sports there were titles and medals galore as CorieMapp took a para-bobsleigh world title, Zoe Atkins sharing the freeski halfpipe World Cup Series title and Britain's 4-man bob missing out on World Cup Series silver by just 0.04 seconds. Charlotte Bankes also moved top of the snowboard cross world cup standings with her 3rd win of the season.Rugby League's season kicked off with Super League's veryfirst 0-0 draw, with champions Wigan finally losing to a Leigh golden point drop goal, giving Leigh a 1-0 win. At the other end of the scale, a severely weakened Salford were beaten 82-0 by St Helens in their opening game.We preview the start of Cricket's Champions Trophy whilstalso asking some tough questions about the ownership of the Hundred franchises after the sale of the 8 teams raised £975 million for English cricket.And in Get a Grip we fire a broadside at Jannick Sinner andthe tennis authorities after a “settlement agreement” meant his lenient 3 month ban for a failed drugs test was also allowed to be taken at a time of his choosing, thus ensuring he avoids missing any Grand Slam events. Madness!

We kick off this week with a look back at the Super Bowl andthe brilliant performance of the Philadelphia Eagles in Denying the Kansas City Chiefs a 3rd consecutive title with a 40-22 win in the showpiece in New Orleans.It was FA Cup 4th round, and whilst Tony and Andy's“Road to Wembley” teams progressed, Plymouth caused the biggest upset with the Championship's strugglers beating the Premier League leaders Liverpool 1-0.The Vitality Nations Netball Cup concluded in London withEngland winning their first title thanks to a 61-55 final win against South Africa, whilst Uganda won the 3rd place final, beating Malawi 50-45.It was medals and world titles galore in the Winter Sportsthis week, with Matt Weston and Mia Brookes each winning back to back world titles in skeleton bob and big air snowboarding respectively. Meanwhile there were European Championship bronze medals for both the 2-man and 4-man British bobsleigh crews.Our guest this week is former UK & World Championpowerlifter John Carney. Having retired last year John shares with us some highlights from his outstanding career and how he is now enjoying training for fun without the pressure of competing. John shares with us his post-retirement plans regarding coaching, and as John was someone who played American Football to a high level in the UK, he gives us his thoughts on Sunday's Super Bowl.

With the start of Rugby's Six Nations Championship this weekend, that's where we kick off this week's episode. France were led by the imperious Antoine Dupont in their win over Wales, Scotland and Italy offered an intriguing tussle which was closer than the final scoreline might show, whilst England were probably flattered by a 5 point loss in Dublin. After their winter Break, Netball's stars are back in action as England host a quad series with South Africa, Malawi and Uganda. Following a convincing win over Malawi the Red Roses were then just edged out by South Africa. They face the final group game against Uganda on Saturday, before the medal placing round on Sunday in London. Australia completed their humiliation of England in the Women's Ashes Cricket - a resounding  innings defeat condemning the tourists to a 16-0 whitewash defeat. England's male counterparts also slid to their worst ever T20 defeat, being all out for just 97 and losing by 150 runs. We also have a Super Bowl preview, the latest in our “Rugby League Challenge Cup road to Wembley” status, and updates from the worlds of Tennis, Golf and Winter Sports. Finally Tony fires a broadside, this time at the TV companies trying to drum up excitement about the dead parrot non-event that transfer deadline day has become.

After Burns' night chat we start this week with coverage of all the title winners from the Australian Tennis Open, with Madison Keys taking the women's title-her first Grand Slam title – whist Jannik Sinner won the men's. We start another “Road To Wembley” with Rugby League's Challenge Cup. Tony has gone for Oldham, whilst Andy goes to the other side of the Pennines to Siddal, as both sides try to make it to the next round, where the Super League teams join the fray. Whilst in Rugby Union, Gloucester and Leicester were raising funds for MND with the Ed Slater Cup – in support of the second rower who played for both sides before retiring due to MND. Gloucester took the spoils 38-31. In NFL we had the Conference Championship games. Philadelphia Eagles beat Washington Commanders to win the NFC title, and in the AFC game Kansas City Chiefs kept up their chase to become the first team to win 3 consecutive Super Bowls by beating the Buffalo Bills. So it will be the Chiefs against the Eagles in New Orleans for the Super Bowl on February 9th. And in a new sport for Null & Void we have had the Ice Swimming World Championships from Italy, where the water temperature gets so low (-10 c) that organisers have to break the ice with heavy axes before racing starts each day! We also have football, golf, England's disastrous Washes tour, your contacts and a very worthy “Get a Grip”!

We start Episode 182 with a tribute to Denis Law after the sad news that the King of the Stretford End had passed away this week. A true great of the British game, and a favourite of Manchester United fans. RIP Denis. With the Australian Tennis Open moving into its second week we bring you all the latest, with men's favourites Djokovic and Sinner, and women's favourites Swiatek and Sabalenka all progressing to the last eight. We also have news on the progress that British prospects made, before being knocked out by the big guns. Staying in Australia, just one week after announcing that the Women's Ashes (Washes) had started, Australia have already secured the urn. A 3-0 whitewash in the one-day series, and a win in the first of three T20 matches means that Australia have an unassailable 8-0 lead. England have, so far, been comprehensively beaten by the hosts and will have to step up to hope to avoid a 16-0 whitewash. On top of all this we have all the news from Rugby's European Cup, Golf from Dubai, the drama of the NFL play offs, a star-studded line up announced for the London Marathon – AND enjoying some marmalade sandwiches with an unusual lunch partner!

Despite the snow and freezing conditions, we are here with your weekly helping of sports news and chat. We kick off with the latest from the FA Cup 3rd round, as well as the mid-week League Cup results that see Newcastle on the verge of making a Wembley final. In Cricket it was the start of the Washes- the women's Ashes. In the first one-day international, England were disappointing as they slipped to 204 all out, which Australia saw off with relative ease, to win by 4 wickets and take a 2-point lead in the series (needing only 8-points to retain the Ashes). Meanwhile the arguments rage on whether England Men's team should play Afghanistan in the Champion's Trophy. We have the latest from Golf's Team Cup, where the Britain & Ireland team beat the Continental Europe team in Abu Dhabi, in what Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald said was “very valuable” preparation for this year's Ryder Cup. And in NFL we bring you all the updates from the Wild Card Play Off round, including a last second win for the Washington Commanders as teams now move on to within two games of the Superbowl. With the Australian Tennis Open having kicked off this weekend we call on tennis expert Justin Cook from the JC Tennis Coaching Centre. Juston runs the rule over the key favourites in the men's and women's event, as well as his thoughts on the hopes of the British contingent. We also chat about how things might play out in the new coaching partnership between Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic. Justin also shares how he and his coaching groups have adapted their training to compensate for, and include, the snowy and wintery conditions!

We have another international episode with Andy out in Malaysia this week. Appropriately, with it being our 180th episode, we cover darts for the first time with Luke Littler becoming, at 17, the youngest player to ever win the PDC World Darts Championship. We have all the latest from football's Premier League, with Forest continuing their great form, as well as a preview of the FA Cup 3rd Round, with an update on how our “Road to Wembley” teams are looking. In Test Cricket it was the 5th and final test in the series between Australia and India, and it served up as much drama as the previous matches in the series. And in Women's Cricket, we look forward to the start of the Women's Ashes- the Washes – that kicks off this weekend with the one-day part of the multi-format series. Staying in Australia, we preview the Australian Tennis Open that starts this weekend, with us running the rule over some of the main contenders. In NFL, we now have the play off places finalised, with Detroit Lions and Kansas City Chiefs earning byes for topping their conferences, as teams look to progress through the knock out rounds to the Super Bowl final on February 9th. And we have the latest from our Doddie Aid efforts, with updates not just from the Null and Void league, but also across the four national teams.

Happy New Year to all our listeners! We kick off with a quick reflection on the festive season and a review of excellent cheese boards! We get into cricket with the 2 tantalising test matches, between Australia & India and South Africa & Pakistan proving that test cricket still has plenty of excitement to offer fans. And in Get a Grip we have a swipe at Indian poster boy Virat Kohli after his unnecessary barging into Australian debutant Sam Konstas. In Rugby Union we bring you the latest from a full, high-scoring premiership schedule, and a world record crowd for a women's club game between Harlequins &Leicester in the Big Game at Twickenham. In Tennis the build up has started for the Australian Open, with qualifying underway and Nick Kyrgios speaking out about the doping charges facing both the men's and women's world number ones. In NFL there's just a handful of play off spots left after the penultimate round of the regular season – so we run the rile over the teams that are already into the Superbowl play offs and those chasing the final spot in each division. Finally we give a plug to Doddie Aid that takes place each January. Listeners can sign up via www.doddieaid.com and not only get active in January, but also raise funds and support for the MND community. If you want to take on Tony and Andy, then once signed up in the App, join the Null & Void league to see who wins bragging rights this January! Our first guest of 2025 is our Football Correspondent, Billy Carr. Billy joins us at the halfway point of the Premier League season to look at what's happening at the top and bottom of the table, where the surprises have come from and what impact the multitude of games over the festive season has had on the table as we reach the turn. A fantastic episode to kick off 2025!

We have a new sport to cover in Episode 178, as Andy brings a report from the Muay Thai kickboxing he watched on holiday. We then have the latest from the Premier League and WSL, as Pep Guardiola's Man City continue to struggle. In cricket we have coverage of England men's 3rd test shambles in New Zealand, where they went down to a 423 run defeat in Hamilton, whilst the Women's team won their solitary test against South Africa convincingly after the Proteas were all out for just 64 on day 3 of the 4-day test. In Rugby Union we bring you news of the early leaders in each of the European Champions Cup groups – with Northampton breaking up the French dominance from Toulouse, Toulon and La Rochelle. And in Netball it's been announced that when the 2025 season gets underway there will be a “Golden Shot” allowe3d in the last 5 minutes of each quarter that will be worth two points. This looks like being an exciting development. In Get A Grip, it's a familiar foe as we take FIFA President Gianni Infantino to task for handing the 2034 World Cup to Saudi Arabia, with no voting allowed on the country's bid. And our guest slot sees a returning favourite as former international skier Konrad Bartelski joins us, to look back on his career in downhill racing, as well as his time as a presenter and broadcaster (including the early days of Ski Sunday) as well as chatting to us about his current profession as a successful photographer, with recent exhibitions in Wimbledon and Mayfair. You can see some of his collections at We have a new sport to cover in Episode 178, as Andy brings a report from the Muay Thai kickboxing he watched on holiday. We then have the latest from the Premier League and WSL, as Pep Guardiola's Man City continue to struggle. In cricket we have coverage of England men's 3rd test shambles in New Zealand, where they went down to a 423 run defeat in Hamilton, whilst the Women's team won their solitary test against South Africa convincingly after the Proteas were all out for just 64 on day 3 of the 4-day test. In Rugby Union we bring you news of the early leaders in each of the European Champions Cup groups – with Northampton breaking up the French dominance from Toulouse, Toulon and La Rochelle. And in Netball it's been announced that when the 2025 season gets underway there will be a “Golden Shot” allowe3d in the last 5 minutes of each quarter that will be worth two points. This looks like being an exciting development. In Get A Grip, it's a familiar foe as we take FIFA President Gianni Infantino to task for handing the 2034 World Cup to Saudi Arabia, with no voting allowed on the country's bid. And our guest slot sees a returning favourite as former international skier Konrad Bartelski joins us, to look back on his career in downhill racing, as well as his time as a presenter and broadcaster (including the early days of Ski Sunday) as well as chatting to us about his current profession as a successful photographer, with recent exhibitions in Wimbledon and Mayfair. You can see some of his collections at https://www.konradbartelski.photography

We start with rugby – as England signed off the autumn with a win over Japan, Scotland had a superb win over Australia and Ireland a big win over Fiji. Meanwhile Wales made it 12 losses in a row with their 45-12 loss to South Africa. Talking of losing streaks, Manchester City's 4-0 home defeat to Spurs was their 5th defeat in a row. Leaders Liverpool beat Southampton 3-2 to go 8 points clear of City at the top. In Cricket, England's women won their first T20 in South Africa, whilst their male counterparts are facing a wicket keeper shortage after Jordan Cox – who was due to make his debut in New Zealand – has had to fly home with a broken thumb. And India have started their tour of Australia in scintillating form, beating the hosts by 295 runs in the first test in Perth. We celebrate the career of double Olympic Gold medallist Alistair Brownlee, who announced his retirement this week. Our guest is tennis expert Justin Cook, from the JC Tennis Centre, to talk about the retirement of Rafal Nadal, the surprise announcement that Andy Murray is joining Novak Djokovic's coaching team. Justin also shares his thoughts on the recent excitement in the Davis Cup and Billie-Jean King Cup. And finally just a quick announcement that we'll be taking a 2-week winter break, so give your ears a rest and we'll be back with you on 19th December!

We open this week's episode with a look back at the latest round of autumn rugby internationals with England's loss to South Africa, Wales' record 11th consecutive defeat, Ireland's narrow win over Argentina and France's electric win against the All Blacks. We also cover the cross-code game from Headingley where former Rugby League and Rugby Union stars pulled their boots on for a hybrid game to raise important funds for Motor Neurone Disease. It was (yet) another Nations League break in men's football, with England's wins over Greece and Ireland securing their return to the top tier of international football. It was also promotion for Wales as their run under new manager Craig Bellamy continues. Meanwhile in the Women's Super League and Championship it was a first, as all fixtures were played at each home club's main stadia. League leaders Chelsea continued their 100% start to the season, inflicting a first defeat of the season on second placed Manchester City, whilst Arsenal had a convincing win away to Tottenham. In tennis Jannik Sinner wrapped up another title with his win in Turin, whilst in the women's Billie Jean King Cup, Great Britain were led to a quarter final victory over Canada thanks to singles wins by Emma Raducanu and Katie Boulter – meaning they progress to take on Slovakia for a place in the final. We also have the latest from cricket, golf, NFL, netball and cycling before issuing a Get a Grip haymaker to everyone involved in the utterly farcical boxing bout between 27 year old Youtuber Jake Paul and 58 year old retired heavyweight champion Mike Tyson. Another great show from your favourite duo.

It was a tough weekend for the norther hemisphere home nations in Rugby Union, as Ireland lost to New Zealand, Scotland lost to South Africa, Wales had a record equalling 10th straight loss at home to Fiji and England yet again missed out in a close game, losing 42-37 to Australia. In Rugby League we preview this Sunday's hybrid game for MND. A mix of former rugby union and rugby league greats will play in a cross-code game to raise funds for MND. The game was the brain child of former Rhinos player, Rob Burrow (who passed away from the disease last year) and former Leicester lock Ed Slater. The game is called the 745 game as a tribute to the shirt numbers worn by Burrow, Slater and Scotland's Doddie Weir, who have all done so much to raise awareness and vital funds. Pep Guardiola's Manchester City slumped to their fourth consecutive defeat means that Liverpool go into the international break 5 points clear at the top, whilst in the Women's Super League, big wins for Chelsea and City mean they maintain their unbeaten start to the season. In Tennis, Cameron Norrie made the final of the Moselle Open. Still working his way back from a 3 month injury lay off, Norrie played well to get to the final, but was then beaten by Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi. And in Cycling, Sir Mark Cavendish brought the curtain down on a 19 year career, winning a sprint finish in the Tour de France Criterium in Singapore. Sir Cav was saluted with an emotional "Wheel of Honour" from other riders before the start. We also have the latest from golf, athletics, netball and cricket-including a worthy Get a Grip regarding the hosting of the Champions Trophy in February!

First up in Episode 174 is Rugby Union, following England's agonising 24-22 defeat at home to New Zealand, whilst Scotland kicked off their Autumn series with a fantastic 57-17 win over Fiji. In Football, Arsenal's title hopes seemed to take a dent in their loss at Newcastle, until City lost at Bournemouth and Chelsea drew with Manchester United. In the FA Cup, Tony and Andy have nailed their colours to the mast as to which minnows they will start with in following a path from the second round to May's final at Wembley. The Formula 1 in Sao Paolo was a fantastic display of wet weather driving, as Max Verstappen went from 17th on the grid to winning the race- putting him within touching distance of the title with just 3 races left. We also bring you the latest in Cricket, Rugby League, Golf, Tennis and NFL - before we give a Get a Grip to New Zealand's All Blacks (and their fans) over being too sensitive over the Haka and how other teams respond. Our guest slot sees the return of local triathlete Tom Mayor. In January we interviewed Tom as he shared his story of being diagnosed with a brain tumour whilst coaching football in America, and how he intended to run or cycle 10k a day for 10 months to raise awareness and funds for Brain Tumour Research to mark 10 years since his diagnosis. Well 10 months on and Tom rejoins us to update on how the challenge went, and some of the highs and lows that went with it. If anyone wants to donate to this amazing cause, there is still time. Just donate via: http://www.justgiving.com/page/tom-mayor-10k-a-day

In Episode 173 we are excited to welcome as out guest Olympic Gold medal winning rower Tim Foster. Tim joins us to reminisce about his time in the GB coxless four that won gold in Sydney, as well as his role coaching in Switzerland. He also shares insights into his current work in the world of football, supporting manager development as Head of Performance for the League Managers Association (LMA) and some of the cycling challenges Tim and his daughter have undertaken. In football we have the news of Erik Ten Hag's departure from Manchester United and England Lionesses' setback at home to Germany. Meanwhile we have all the latest from Rugby Union's Premiership, and a preview of this weekend's Autumn internationals. From Valenica we have a new half marathon world record after Ethiopia's Yomif Kejelcha ran 57 mins 30 secs on his way to victory in Spain. And in NFL, Chiefs remain unbeaten, whilst Washington's rookie quarterback threw a 52-yard Hail Mary touchdown pass to steal a last minute victory over the Bears. We also have updates from the Rugby League series between England and Samoa, Cricket from Rawalpindi, Formula One, Golf and Tennis – as well as your contacts and another spicy Get a Grip!

In Episode 172 we bring you another great selection of sports and a fantastic guest. We begin with Football and updates from the Premier League and Women's Super League action. Meanwhile in Rugby's Premiership there were a host of nail-biting finishes – Saracens beat Bristol with the last kick of the game, Bath edged out Quins with just 90 seconds left on the clock, and Leicester held on to beat Gloucester in the Ed Slater Cup – named after a lock who played for both sides and is now fighting with MND. In Formula 1, Lando Norris was unhappy at the controversial decision to penalise him 5 seconds for his passing of title rival Max Verstappen. This dropped him to 4th and moved Verstappen up to 3rd. Meanwhile Ferrari's Charles LeClerc and Carlos Sainz took 1st and 2nd place. It was the finale of the America's Cup races this weekend. Team Emirates New Zealand's 7-2 win over Team Ineos Britannia secured them a third consecutive title, and extended Britain's 173 years of hurt in pursuit of lifting the Auld Mug trophy for the first time. This week's guest is Dorothy Hathaway, who recently won an U23 Tug of War World Championship silver medal. Dorothy joins us to give an insight into how she got involved in the sport, the time commitment involved in training, as well as her excitement at competing in the World Championship event. She also shares some of the intricacies and details of the sport for us and our listeners. An absolutely brilliant guest, and another from the South Stoke production line of sportsmen and sportswomen achieving amazing sporting feats!

Episode 171 starts with an update from Rugby League's Grand Final, where Wigan's 9-2 win over Hull Kingston Rovers secured the first ever quadruple in the Super League era. In Football it was an international break, so Nations League matches. England's winning start under interim boss Lee Carsley came to a juddering halt with a 2-1 home loss to Greece in a very confused performance, whilst Wales' great start under new boss Craig Bellamy continues. In Rugby Union, England's Red Roses won the WXV title with a hard fought 21-12 win over hosts Canada-and in the Premiership there were “Derby Weekend” wins for Sale, Bath, Bristol, Leicester and Quins. Kenyan Ruth Chepngetich set a new women's world record in the Chicago Marathon with her time of 2 hours 9 minutes and 57 seconds taking nearly 2 minutes off the previous record. Meanwhile there were records galore in England Men's team's first test in Pakistan as England racked up 823, to win by an innings and 47 runs in Multan. Joe Root's 262 helped him overtake Sir Alastair Cook as England's highest ever test run scorer. We have a Get A Grip covering Wimbledon's decision to axe line judges for Artificial Intelligence from next summer, and, in a Null & Void first, we have a report from the World Conkers Championships – where the tournament has been rocked by allegations of metal nuts and marked strings cheating! Have no fear though dear listener, whilst Wimbledon are relying on Artificial Intelligence, Null and Void will continue to bring you our Natural Stupidity!

We kick off this week with Rugby League. In the men's Super League semi-finals, holders Wigan had a 38-0 win over Leigh, whilst Hull Kingston Rovers qualified for their first Grand Final with a close win over Warrington. In the women's Super League York Valkyrie became the first side to win back to back Grand Finals when they beat treble chasing St Helens 18-8.   We then move to England Men's Cricket tour of Pakistan, with the hosts racking up an impressive 556 in the first innings of the 3 match series. In the women's T20 World Cup, England are sitting pretty with 2 wins from 2 games as Heather Knight's side seek to top the group for the next stage, whilst Scotland have had two tough games, losing both – and they will be looking forward to facing the Auld enemy at the weekend.   In Rugby Union, England's Red Roses went 2 from 2 in an entertaining win over New Zealand. They will now play hosts Canada for a winner takes all game in the final round of the Women's WXV Division One.  Meanwhile in New Zealand, England's Vitality Roses signed off their tour down under with a 2-1 series win over New Zealand's Silver Ferns.   And in a Null & Void first we have an update from the World Tug-of-War Championships in Germany – including another sporting result from Tony's village. Local lass Dorothy Hathaway  was part of England's U23 500kg team that took Silver against a very tough opponent from Chinese Taipei. Yet another sporting great from South Stoke!

We start Episode 169 with a look back at the weekend's football – with big wins for Arsenal, Chelsea and Spurs in the men's Premier League and tight wins for Arsenal, Manchester United and Manchester City in the Women's Super League. We bring you all the dram from the Rugby League play-offs “eliminators”, as well as late drama in Rugby Union's WXV Division 1, where Ireland tore up the form book and beat reigning world champions New Zealand. In Cricket, England had both sides of the Duckworth Lewis System (DLS) in their rain affected matches with Australia. Firstly it calculated a win for the hosts that kept the series alive, but then in the decider at Bristol, rain meant DLS was in use again with Australia winning to take the series 3-2. In the domestic game, rain relegated Lancashire from Division 1 in the County Championship, whilst rivals Yorkshire celebrated promotion by posting 726 against Northants. England's Netball tour of the Antipodes had a narrow 2-1 series defeat for the Red Roses as they lost the decider 61-59 to Australia. They moved on to New Zealand, where they won the series opener 59-58 against the Sliver Ferns. Our guest this week is Joy Foster, who chats with us about her journey from a young ballerina to a USA International – and Olympic hopeful- archer (via swimming and rowing). Joy also shares an insight into how the lessons she learned as an international athlete help her now in her business life, coaching and supporting women who are returning from career breaks through the work of her company Tech Pixies. We also have all the latest from golf, NFL and tennis – as well as Tadej Pogacar becoming only the 3rd ever male cyclist to win the Tour De France, Giro D'Italia and World Championship “triple crown” in the same year.

We kick off this week with Cricket – with updates from England's series with Australia, Afghanistan beating South Africa and Surrey winning their third consecutive County Championship. In Formula 1 it was a frustrating weekend for Max Verstappen-he finished the Singapore Grand Prix behind title rival Lando Norris and was also handed a punishment by the governing body for swearing in a press conference, with the order to “accomplish some work of public interest”. Football saw the return of the Women's Super League, whilst in Rugby Union the Premiership kicked off with a re-run of last season's final –with Bath this time beating title holders Northampton. Our guest this week is triathlete Phil Wortley, who returns to the show to share his story of his first full distance Ironman where, having run a PB marathon time, as he finished Ironman Copenhagen in an awesome 11hours 31 minutes. As a proud Dad, Phil also shares with us the brilliant progress his two daughters have made in archery – with both finishing in the top 10 at the National Championships-despite both having to compete 3 age groups up from their ages.

This week we kick off by looking back at Team USA's Solheim Cup win in Virginia, as Stacy Lewis' team took the trophy for the first time in 7 years. Whilst Tony was “unwilding” in the garden, Andy was one of 41,000 in the crowd cheering on England's Red Roses as they beat current World Cup holders New Zealand. Both sides head off to Canada for the WXV Division 1 tournament, and Scotland and Ireland also warmed up for their games with big wins. In Cricket, rain robbed fans of the final T20 between England and Australia, leaving the series tied at 1-1, whilst Ireland's Women bounced back from a heavy defeat in the first game in Dublin to draw the series against England's Women – thanks to a 5-wicket win on Sunday. In Formula 1 Lando Norris was able to narrow the gap to Max Verstappen with a 4th place finish in Azerbaijan as McLaren team mate Oscar Piastri driving well to win. And finally we have the results in from the World Stone Skimming Championships in Easdale-where the final “Toss Off” went to a sudden death shoot out before Simon Power was crowned Open champion for 2024. Another action-packed episode!

With the Paralympics having closed this weekend in Paris, we kick off the episode with a look back at some of the highlights as Team GB finished with 49 golds and 124 medals. It was contrasting end of term fortunes for England's cricketers as the men's team lost the final test against Sri Lanka, whilst the women's team won their series against Ireland in Belfast. There was also success in Ireland for England's footballers as they kicked off Lee Carsley's reign with a 2-0 win in Dublin. Wigan beat top of the table rivals Hull Kingston Rovers, and with just 2 games left this makes them favourites to take the League Leaders' Shield, whilst St Helens' defeat leaves them in danger of missing out on the play offs for the first time since 1997. In the US Tennis Open it was wins for Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka, whilst Britain's Jack Draper reached his first ever Grand Slam semi-final. We also have the latest from Rugby Union, the final week of La Vuelta, the first weekend of the new NFL season and also an amazing paddleboarding world record. As summer turns to autmn, snuggle up in the warm and listen to another great episode!

We kick off Episode 165 with the latest news from the Paralympic Games in Paris, with Andy & Tony sharing some of the amazing events that have caught their eye – as well as celebrating the IPC taking heed of last week's “Get a Grip”. Tennis expert Justin Cook, from JC Tennis Coaching joins us at the mid-point of the US Tennis Open and ask him if, with Djokovic and Alcazar out, this could be the opportunity for Britain's Jack Draper? Justin also shares some great tips for amateur players for some off court practices now that the nights are drawing in. In other sports we cover England's success in the second cricket test at Lord's – where Joe Root broke more records and Gus Atkinson hit his first ever first class century, as England beat Sri Lanka by 109 runs. We also have updates from Formula 1, Ultra Marathon Running, Cycling's La Vuelta, all the Premier League Football as well as a rare win in Rugby Union for Australia's Wallabies.

We kick off Episode 164 with a look back at the enthralling first Cricket test between England and Sri Lanka, that looked to be in the balance until Joe Root's unbeaten 62 secured the win for England. This was after wicket keeper Jamie Smith had hit his maiden test century in the first innings  At St Andrew's it was the Women's Open Golf, where New Zealand's Lydia Ko triumphed in a very close final round, not only beating rivals Lilia Vu and Ruoning Yin  but also gale force winds to win by 2 strokes to add the Open title to the Olympic Gold she won just two weeks earlier. Olympic champions were also in action in Athletics' Diamond League events-with Jakob Ingebritsen getting revenge on Olympic gold medal winner Cole Hocker in the 1500m in Lausanne, before going on to beat the men's 3,000m record in Silesia. This record had stood for 26 years. Meanwhile the pole vault record of Armand DuPlantis had not even stood for 26 days before he broke it again, adding another centimetre to take the record now to 6.26 metres.  In football we pay tribute to former England manager Sven Goran Erikkson, who sadly passed away aged 76, after a long battle with pamcreatic cancer. We also have then surprise news of England winning a football World Cup on penalties, after the Men's Over 75 team beat hosts Wales on spot kicks. However Wales were triumphant later in the day as their over 70's team won their tournament, with a shoot out win over a team from the USA.  And this week's Get a Grip pours scorn over the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) after they doubled down on a ruling that means if Paralympians could face disqualification from events and annulment of medal results if they have a tattoo of the Olympic Rings showing. The ruling basically bans the Olympic logo at the Olympics. Madness!

We start by looking back at the finals weekend in Cricket's Hundred. London Spirit won the Women's title, whilst Oval Invincibles became the first men's team to retain their crown after beating Southern Brave- who's Eliminator game on Saturday was the first to be decided by a "Super 5". With the US Tennis Open fast approaching, players geared up with the Cincinnati Open. Anya Sabalenka won the women's final for her first title since January, whilst Jannik Sinner became the youngest winner of the men's title since Andy Murray in 2008. We also have updates from Rugby League's "Magic Weekend", the final stage of the Women's Tour de France, and the Scottish Women's Golf Open. It may feel like only 5 minutes since the end of last season's Premier League, but we are back on the merry go round again as this season kicked off at the weekend. We are joined by football expert Billy Carr to run the rule over the possible winners and losers, as well as asking if anyone can challenge Erling Haaland for the Golden Boot. Billy also talks about the blog he has started for the international weekends, with the first instalment being an excellent summary at the end of Gareth Southgate's reign at the Euros. You can read it via: https://open.substack.com/pub/billycarr13/p/starting-at-an-end?r=475n0o&utm_medium=ios

So the Olympics is over for another 4 years (but don't panic - it's only 2 weeks until the Paralympics start!). We kick off by looking back at some of our highlights from the final week, including a Gold for climber Toby Roberts and a 1500m bronze for Georgia Bell that finishes her remarkable comeback story. The football season is back, and we review the Manchester derby in the Community Shield, and the news of a sacking after just one game! As we come into the last week of Cricket's Hundred, we look at who needs what to qualify for finals weekend-however Northern Superchargers will be without England test captain Ben Stokes, as his hamstring injury rules him out of not only their final games, but also England's test series against Sri Lanka We also have the amazing story of Fran Hurndall, who will be  attempting a record for running across Australia-running 110km per day as she tries to go  from Perth to Sydney in 34 days to raise funds and awareness for domestic violence. Finally we have your contacts and one last Olympics Get A Grip!

In a first for Null & Void we are joined this week by Harry Brightmore, just over 72 hours after he coxed the GB Rowing Men's 8 to golden glory in Paris. Harry gives us a real insight into not just the race itself, but also what life was like in camp, and just how it feels to stand on the podium at the Olympics. We also bring you some of the highlights from week 2 at the games, including an iconic gold for Remco Evenepoel in the road cycling and a silver for Tommy Fleetwood in the golf, whilst we marvel at the chaotic brilliance of the Canoe Slalom Kayak Cross. There's also the latest from Rugby League Superleague, an update from cricket's Hundred and we also pay tribute to former England batter Graham Thorpe, who sadly passed away this week. A champion podcast, joined by an Olympic champion!

This week we bring you an Olympic special. With the games fully underway, we have all the latest from the range of amazing sports at Paris 2024. Andy gives first hand reports from the Rugby 7's, the Rowing-where former guest and friend of the show Harry Brightmore was in action with the Men's 8 – and, of course, a review of the great French food and wine! Tony has the updates from the great coverage back home-with a mix of sports we all know and love, as well as those that have drawn him in for the first time. We also have the latest from test cricket, close finishes in The Hundred, as well as disqualifications in the Belgian Grand Prix and massive changes at the top of Rugby League's Superleague table. A truly gold medal worthy performance!

A great episode this week as we kick off looking at the final stage of the Tour de France, and Tadej Pogacar's success in doing the Giro D'Italia and Tour de France double I the same year. At Trent Bridge England and the West Indies were closely matched for 3.5 days, before a West Indies collapse handed England a 241 run win and helped bowler Shoaib Bashir take a first home 5-wicket haul in a home test. Meanwhile in Rugby Union it was also a chance for youth to shine as England's Under 20's side won the World Championship, beating France in Cape Town. We have an update from inside Team GB's Rowing training camp as they head off to Paris, as previous guest Harry Brightmore (Cox of the Men's 8) sends us a final note from their Caversham base before they take the Eurostar over to the holding camp. And it's an Olympic Get a Grip as Andy bemoans the lack of beer at the games! Our guest is Golf Professional Andy Wild, who joins us to share his expert insights into an exciting, but very wet, Open Championship from Troon. He chats about the win for Xander Schauffele and how a tricky course and weather conditions put paid to the hopes of some of the big names. Andy also gives some pointers on what warmer conditions mean for those at more amateur levels as they plat through the summer.

We kick off this week by looking back at the European Championships Final and England's defeat by Spain, leading Gareth Southgate to stand down after 8 years in charge. Wee bring you a roundup of the winner from Wimbledon's finals weekend, where Carlos Alcaraz won the Men's, Barbara Krejcikova the Women's and Britain's Alfie Hewitt took both the Men's and Doubles Wheelchair titles. From Rugby Union we have all the latest from the summer tours, meanwhile in Rugby League it was a top of the table derby clash between Wigan and Saint Helens – with Wigan looking to extend their lead at the top and Saints looking to avoid a third consecutive defeat. As athletes fine tune their preparation for the Olympics next week, it was the Monaco Diamond League event-where there was a men's 1500m European record for Jakob Ingebrigtsen whilst Australia's Jess Hill set a new world record in the rarely raced 2000m. Our first guest is Simon Cowlard who returns to share the story of his fundraising walk between the football stadia in London, to raise funds for Myeloma UK. Simon tells us about the efforts of him and his team mates, including unexpected miles, shortbread biscuits and impromptu street football en route to raising thousands of pounds for the charity. We are then joined by triathletes Andrew Harden-Sweetnam and Harriet Hardy who recently completed the Ironman 70.3 Bolton event as a relay team. They share their experiences of the race-but if that wasn't enough, they spent the following weekend participating in a “Backyard Ultra”. This was organised from Andrew's garden in support of previous pod guest Tom Mayor's fundraising efforts for Brain Tumour Research. Andrew and Harriet share how a 12-hour, 60-kilometre event boiled down to a final loop sprint! We also have the usual round up of sports stories that you love, a worthy Get a Grip target and your contacts in another fantastic episode.

Our guest this week is our Football Correspondent Billy Carr, who joins us ahead of the Euro Semi-Finals to chat through his predictions for the final week, and whether Gareth Southgate's men can reach their second successive final, as well as taking a look back across the whole tournament. We kick off the coverage celebrating Sir Mark Cavendish taking the record for the most Tour De France stage wins as he secured his 35th stage. We also have new men's and women's records for long distance triathlons from the Challenge Roth event, where regular listener Lee Spoor was competing. We have the latest from all of the Northern Hemisphere teams' summer rugby tours -with England & Ireland losing close games with New Zealand & South Africa, Wales well beaten by Australia, and good wins for Scotland & France. Meanwhile Lewis Hamilton's win in the British Grand Prix at Silverstone not only gives him his first win in 2.5 years, but also the record for the most wins at a single track. After Novak Djokovic clashed with Wimbledon fans, saying that their cheering for Holgar Rune in their 3rd round game sounded like booing, we put him in the dock for Get a Grip. In better tennis news, we bring you the latest from SW1. We also have all the news from athletics, cricket, rowing and rugby league that you all expect from your favourite sports podcast.

As the country heads to the polls, we bring you your number one candidate in your weekly sports podcasts! We kick off with a review of the Netball Super League Final, with a triumph for Lightning over Thunder to take the title. We have the latest from the Euros and England's progress thanks to a late, late equalizer from Jude Bellingham that means they will play Switzerland in the last 8. And with the senior teams preparing for this week's test matched, our rugby update focuses on the Under 20 World Championships and the opening games for England's & Wales's youngsters. In rowing we have a story of 3 brothers who will be rowing the pacific, with their musical instruments! Whilst in the more sedate setting of Henley-on-Thames, the storms are about the alleged pollution and E-Coli levels in the River Thames ahead of this week's Royal Regatta. With Wimbledon underway this week, our guest is tennis professional and coach Justin Cook, who runs JC Tennis. Justin chats us through his predictions for the 2 weeks in SW1, along with some names to look out for. Justin also talks about coaching at grass roots level and dealing with pushy parents. Regardless of the General Election result, we know that we are still your podcast premier!

We kick off Episode 155 with a look at the latest from the Euros-looking at England's progress to the knockout stages whilst Scotland and their Tartan Army fell at the first hurdle. We also call out the negativity from the TV and press pundits, and the character assassination of Southgate and the team by people who should know better. In Netball's play-offs we now know who will be playing in this weekend's final after wins for Manchester Thunder and Loughborough Lightning-yet again a very, very frightening line up! Meanwhile, in Rugby Union there were big wins for England and South Africa, whilst Glasgow Warriors pulled another shock out of the bag to beat the Bulls and win the URC title in Pretoria. Sadly the GB Men's 7's team were beaten by South Africa in the Olympic Qualifying Repechage tournament, meaning the Blitzbokke take the final place in Paris. The T20 Cricket World Cup in Cricket has also thrown up some great surprises-England turned round a poor start to the tournament, and big wins over West Indies and USA mean they are into the semi-finals, whilst Afghanistan's giant killing of Australia means they progress to their first semi-final at the expense of the Baggy Greens! As ever we also bring you the latest and best from a host of other sports, including F1, Athletics, Rugby League, Mountain Biking, Cycling and Swimming – along with your contacts.

After our brief break, we are back with Episode 154 of Null & Void. We kick off with the US Open Golf and the thrilling finale between Brydon DeChambeau and Rory McIlroy, before moving onto football's Euros and the opening win for England and defeat for Scotland against hosts Germany. In rugby union we look back at the Premiership Final as well as the latest round of rugby league's super league. Meanwhile it was the final round of the regular seasons in the netball super league, as we now head into the play off finals. In cricket's T20 World Cup the USA and Afghanistan have been the surprise packages into the Super 8 stage, whilst England  were given a scare by rain in their game against Namibia and had to rely on a favour from old foes Australia to make it through to the next stage at Scotland's expense. Our guest this week is Ken Carter, who joins us to talk about his lifelong involvement in sport, including playing rugby for Blackheath, London Irish, the Royal Marines as well as the brave decision to play for BOTH Cornwall AND Devon! Ken also chats about his involvement in establishing Deaf Sport First – an organisation that supports deaf people in maximising their sporting potential – and how their remit is evolving with innovation in sports science and artificial intelligence. A fantastic guest and a great show.

Having brought you an episode from Singapore earlier this year, we're again going international with this week's episode coming all the way from San Francisco. Andy is there to take part in the Escape from Alcatraz triathlon, so gives us an update on how his preparation is going and just how cold the water is! We bring you the latest from your favourite sports- Novak Djokovic withdrawing from the French Open Tennis, another Champions League title for Real Madrid, Rugby's Premiership play offs and the controversial changes planned for next year's Netball Super League – and much, much more. We also pay our own tribute to MND campaigner and former Leeds Rhinos star Rob Burrow, who sadly passed away from the cruel illness on Sunday.

We have a record breaking 13 sports for you to enjoy in this week's episode. Tony revels in Man United's FA Cup win, which also secures European Football for he Red Devils next season. Tottenham Hotspur hosted rugby's two European finals , with Natal Sharks winning the Challenge Cup before Toulouse triumphed over Leinster in the battle of potentially the two best club sides in the world. Meanwhile, in Super League, we are now down to 3 teams tied at the top of the table. The World Para-Athletics championships finished in Kobe with Hannah Cockroft securing her 16th World Championship gold medal- and in the Eugene Diamond League meet, Keely Hodgkinson and Jake Kerr both had statement wins just 2 months out from the Olympics., with Kerr also breaking the British Mile record in the process. Our guest this week is Harry Brightmore, who joins us fresh from coxing the GB Men's Rowing 8 to a gold medal in the World Cup Regatta in Lucerne. Harry talks us through how he got into rowing, and his history in the sport right up to the weekend's gold. As well as looking back at Lucerne, Harry also shares the gruelling timetable between now and Paris, as well as the aspirations he and the crew have for Olympic gold. An amazing guest to cap off a fantastic episode!