There may be trouble ahead.  On Friday evening I watched the T20 quarter final between Kent Spitfires and Birmingham Bears at Canterbury which, thankfully, was televised on Sky.   An enthralling encounter with much riding on it for both sides, especially Birmingham for a win against Kent would have seen them through to Finals Day on their own ground at Edgbaston.

As it turned out, an inspired display by the home side saw Kent through where they will face Sussex Sharks in the semi-final.   But if Kent make it through to the Final, then this is where my divided loyalties might be tested in the event that Hampshire also make it through to the Final following their own semi-final clash with Somerset.  In the summer of 1949 my parents took me to Hampshire`s old ground at Northlands Road in Southampton for my first introduction to the wonderful world of cricket to watch the touring New Zealanders.   Those were memorable days for Hampshire with players like Neville Rogers, Neil McCorkell, Charlie Knott and Leo Harrison and they were followed over the years by Shackleton and Cannings, Jimmy Gray, Roy Marshall, Gordon Greenidge and ultimately the County Championship winning teams under Colin Ingleby-Mckenzie and Richard Gilliatt.

But having lived in Kent for decades and having taken to the agreeable sanctuary of the Canterbury ground I have also gained an affection for the county of the Garden of England and so I enjoyed their victory on Friday evening and the prospect of their big day out at Edgbaston on 18th September.   I suppose in the end it really won`t matter whether Kent or Hampshire are victorious if both reach the Final  - one of `my` teams will have made it through so after all my loyalties, whilst they may remain divided, might not be stretched too much.

However, I faced another test yesterday when two of the football teams I follow were due to face each other in the Highland League game between Fort William and Brechin City.  However, due to an outbreak of Covid-19 within the Fort William ranks, the game was postponed.   The Fort`s press release stated that although the club were disappointed that they were unable to fulfil the fixture, the interests of health and safety were their main priority.   When the game is eventually played, I confess that my loyalties might lean towards the strugglers of Fort William rather than their relatively affluent opponents - The Fort have enough to worry about even without the interventions of Mr. Covid and his package of variants.