James Watson’s second major contribution of the match helped Blackley snatch a two-run victory at Mytholmroyd and put another dent in their hosts’ Foster’s Halifax League title ambitions.

Blackley, battling to move clear of the bottom two in the Premier, were struggling to post a par total at Moderna Way until number eight Watson came in and crashed five sixes in a knock of 72.

The visitors’ total of 229 looked likely to be inadequate when Zeb Mahmood (74), Luke Sutcliffe (45) and Wajid Ali (43) scored well towards the top of the ‘Royd order.

However, five-wicket David Peel made rapid inroads and Watson trapped last man Nathan Harris leg before with ‘Royd just a boundary from victory.

Bottom side Southowram had an eye-catching win at faltering Warley while Sowerby Bridge won by four wickets at Queensbury in another key match affecting the foot of the table.

The Rams racked up 311 for six, thanks to Dean Crossley (103 no) and double-figure contributions from all his teammates.

Warley were 88 for five against a modest visiting attack before Daniel Syme (58) and James Whitworth (49) kept Southowram waiting for what was eventually a 75-run win.

Jer Lane overcame a tricky hurdle in their bid for a third successive title with a three-wicket win at SBCI.

Tom Conway made life tricky for the leaders with 112, George Hampshire making 60 in a total of 255 for six.

Wayne Cotton led the reply with 116 and his 170-run third wicket stand with Raqeeb Younas (72) proved decisive, even though five-wicket Tom Wood caused some alarm in the visiting ranks.

Booth recovered well from the previous week’s 44 all out against SBCI, crushing visitors Copley by nine wickets to go second again.

Copley were 27 for three but got their score up to 176 with the help of a 93-run stand between Chris Dennison (59) and Nick Gomersall (33).

That proved inadequate, however, as nine bowlers tried and failed to dismiss Rob Laycock, who finished unbeaten on 107 after sharing an opening stand of 107 with Robert Worsnop (43).

League side players Josh Hutchinson and Christian Silkstone were the stars of the show in Thornton’s 23-run win at Triangle.

Hutchinson hit 82 and followed up with five for 66.

Silkstone took five for 44 and then added 68 with the bat but the 66s scored by Nikki Hutchinson and Mick Shanks helped give the visitors the edge in a 545-run contest.

Points (after 15 games): Jer Lane 140, Booth 127, Mytholmroyd 125, Thornton 123, SBCI 120, Copley 109, Triangle 106, Sowerby bridge 105, Blackley 102, Warley 101, Queensbury 87, Southowram 77.

Sowerby St Peter’s continued their title drive in Division One with an 86-run win at Stones.

They had their bowlers to thank at Ripponden, having only managed to post 189.

Oxenhope are still to host Northowram Hedge Top in two crucial contests in the battle for the second promotion spot.

The first is next Saturday and both will go into it in good heart after comfortable wins on the back of big totals.

Northowram have an eight-point lead over the rivals after continuing their run spree at home to Bradshaw.

Skipper Chris Conroy led the way with a 76-ball century, eventually falling for 122.

Adam Stocks (73) has also scored plenty of runs in 2015 and he helped the hosts pile up 360 for four.

Bradshaw replied with 221, left-hander Steve Beck being last man out to five-wicket Harry Talbot with his side’s top score of 51.

Oxenhope made 328 for nine at Bridgeholme with Liam Dyson (90no) showing the way.

It looked all over when Bridgeholme slumped to 41 for five but James Hudson (87) and Bobby Fielden (79) launched a counter-attack which fell 58 runs short.

Low Moor HT moved out of the bottom two with an eight-wicket win at fellow strugglers Luddenden Foot.

Foot made 232 for eight but Graham Scarborough (122 no) and Mark Stokes (74 no) added 160 in an unbroken stand to clinch success for Moor.

Points: Sowerby SP 153, Northowram HT 133, Oxenhope 125, Bridgeholme 108, Bradshaw 93, Low Moor 92, Stones 87, Luddenden Foot 83.

Great Horton Park Chapel have surged into a 16-point lead at the top of Division Two after crushing bottom side Greetland in a contest lasting only 20 overs.

Matthew Jordan recorded the sensational figures of eight wickets for 11 runs, Hussain Syed (two for 18) helping to ensure the visitors from West Vale were dismissed for 33.

Mushtaq Mahboob raised the only Greetland cheer of the afternoon when taking the one home wicket to fall.

Chapel’s good afternoon was made complete when second-placed Old Crossleyans managed only full bonus points in a surprise nine-run defeat at Denholme Clough.

Outlane are only two points behind the Broomfield men after Anwar Shaukatt took six for 26 off 13 overs to dismiss Cullingworth for 169.

That was in reply to Outlane’s 196, which was based on an opening stand of 86 between Colin Hemmingway (40) and Alex Blagborough (50).

Clayton went above Cullingworth following a five wicket win at home to Old Town.

Town were 18 for three before Sajid Mahmood (72 no) and Mohammed Jamil (54 no) lifted the total to 186 for four. Clayton batted solidly, however, to win with a couple of overs to spare.

Upper Hopton’s attack were thew latest to suffer at the hands of Shelf’s hard-hitting Leigh Butterfield. He hit 64 in a total of 252 and that proved just out of Hopton’s reach.

Points: Great Horton PC 144, Old Crossleyans 128, Outlane 126, Clayton 120, Cullingworth 119, Shelf 108, Denholme Clough 92, Upper Hopton 91, Old Town 83, Greetland 57.

Holders Copley are through to Halifax League’s Twenty/20 final after beating Jer Lane in a thrilling finish today.

Needing two off the last delivery to overhaul Jer Lane’s 213, Nick Gomersall cut the ball for four.

However, rain was starting to fall as the first of three planned games at Copley was being completed.

When the umpires inspected at 3pm it was decided that the second semi-final between Bridgeholme and SBCI and the final would not be able to take place today.

Those games will now take place on Sunday, September 6 and it is hoped that Copley will again stage the action in the Heineken UK-sponsored event.

Jer Lane had recovered from five for two after the first over to reach 154 for four off 16 with the help of 50 retired from Johnny Lister.

Another 59 runs came off the final four overs to leave league leaders Lane firm favourites.

However, Copley made a flying start to their reply, helped by a half-century from Freddie Hammond off just 24 balls.

Copley were 85 for one in the eighth over when he strode back to the pavilion.

Copley were 114 for three at half way and skipper Craig Taylor’s 32-ball 50 kept them on target.

However, a lull in the scoring left the home side needing 25 off two overs and 14 off the last.

Former Parish Cup-winning skipper Mohammed Seraj hit the first ball for six and the third to the boundary. A single left three needed off two and Gomersall held his nerve to win it for his side off the last.

STRANGE things happen at Scarborough.

One year, the ground’s PA system picked up an oration from a funeral service in a nearby church.

Another year, that same PA system picked up commentary from a local bowls match, causing the cricketers to stop dead in their tracks.

And who can forget the time when a man wearing an Osama bin Laden face mask ran on to the outfield with a rucksack on his back before being led away by stewards.

Yes, strange things happen at Scarborough alright.

Yesterday, as rain curtailed Yorkshire’s opening Royal London One-Day Cup match, with Gloucestershire 5-0 after two overs in reply to the hosts’ 227 all-out, another curious incident was added to the list.

After just three balls, play was halted for around five minutes because the 30-yard fielding circle had been incorrectly laid out.

The scorer’s walkie-talkie in the press box relayed the drama, the umpires confiding that the white dots inside which a certain number of fielders must stand were, in fact, only 25 yards or so from the stumps.

Men with giant tape measures appeared, and the white dots - all 26 of them - were meticulously moved into the correct place, with North Marine Road thus providing Wisden almanack with another entry for its annual Index of Unusual Occurrences.

Sadly for Yorkshire, there was nothing unusual about the cricket itself, which continued a frustrating trend for them in one-day cricket.

Having crashed out of the T20 Blast in disappointing style, Yorkshire produced an underwhelming display to kick-off their 50-over campaign.

After winning the toss, they were dismissed from the final delivery of their 50 overs, Tim Bresnan top-scoring with 43 on a day when none of the top-order took responsibility.

Australia’s Glenn Maxwell (33) and England’s Gary Ballance (31) were among those who got starts but failed to go on, Yorkshire falling to 151-8 before Bresnan and Steve Patterson spared their blushes with a ninth-wicket stand of 57 in 64 balls.

Yorkshire’s batting was stodgy - the cricketing equivalent of sausage rolls and pork pies.

Of the 50 overs they faced, there were 30 overs’ worth of dot balls - a statistic which spoke volumes for their inability to put bat on ball.

The hosts were even gifted two extra overs in wides and no-balls by a Gloucestershire attack whose failure to end sooner the Yorkshire ninth-wicket stand retrospectively cost them the chance of victory.

That stand crucially ate up 40 minutes, with Gloucestershire needing to get in 10 overs of their reply in order to constitute a game under Duckworth-Lewis, at which point they would only have had to be 20-0 to win.

On a green-tinged pitch, Yorkshire lost their first wicket in the fifth over when Alex Lees seemed surprised by a ball from James Fuller that bounced up to take the edge.

There was plenty of bounce, in fact, and Andrew Gale fell in not dissimilar fashion when he was caught behind off Craig Miles to leave Yorkshire 34-2 in the 10th.

It brought together the big guns of Maxwell and Ballance, but neither was firing on all cylinders.

Maxwell, after taking 11 balls to get off the mark, lofted the pace of Benny Howell for a straight six into the Peasholm Park end, but his dismissal summed up his Yorkshire career to date.

Having been caught at point off a no-ball from Fuller, and then horrendously dropped by former England wicketkeeper Geraint Jones at mid-off in the space of three balls, Maxwell slapped the next delivery straight to Jones in the same place, who this time accepted the chance just above his head.

It was strange stuff from Maxwell, who had been left out of Friday’s final T20 game against Birmingham for disciplinary reasons after turning up late to the final day of a second team game.

If anything, this type of dismissal was just as deserving of sanction.

Maxwell’s indiscretion was only magnified when Jack Leaning was yorked by Fuller’s next ball, leaving Yorkshire 82-4 in the 19th.

Ballance was another to go caught behind, feathering the medium pace of Kieran Noema-Barnett during a spell of four overs that included five wides.

Ballance hit two fours in his 55-ball stay and will be hoping for better when Yorkshire return to his old stomping ground of Derby today (2pm start).

Will Rhodes was another dismissed in the 30s, brilliantly caught by Michael Klinger flying to his left at slip off Miles.

When Andrew Hodd slapped the same bowler to cover and Liam Plunkett was caught behind off his next ball, Yorkshire were 151-8 in the 37th over.

Bresnan and Patterson helped save face, the latter eventually lbw trying to sweep the left-arm spin of Tom Smith, and Bresnan continuing his fine form with the bat before holing out to deep mid-wicket off the final ball.

West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) confirmed that £55m has been approved for projects and programmes agreed as part of the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership’s (LEP’s) Growth Deal with government.

One year on from the announcement of the £1 billion-plus Growth Deal for Leeds City Region, 14 projects are being developed.

Between them they are expected to create over 5,000 jobs and more than 1,700 homes. They have also attracted almost £350m private sector investment.

All of these Leeds City Region Growth Deal projects have been designed to support the LEP and Combined Authority’s priorities to improve local transport links, accelerate housing growth and town centre regeneration, develop a skilled and flexible workforce, support growing businesses and build a resource efficient city region.

They have each been subjected to a rigorous appraisal process to ensure they fit with the ambition set out in the region’s Strategic Economic Plan and deliver jobs and growth for businesses and residents.

Councillor Peter Box, and Wakefield Council Leader and Chair of West Yorkshire Combined Authority said: “West Yorkshire Combined Authority is committed to creating an environment that encourages businesses to grow, that creates 62,000 new, good quality jobs, enables all young people to find job and training opportunities and supports the building of 65,000 new homes in the next five years.

“These 14 projects, which are in various stages of development, will all help to make those ambitions a reality for people across the City Region.

Roger Marsh OBE, Chair of the LEP said: “One momentous year after our Growth Deal announcement we have made real progress on delivering, at scale, the projects and programmes to achieve transformational economic growth.

“Having been through a thorough appraisal process, we are confident these projects will bring maximum benefits to businesses and residents across the region, further cementing Leeds City Region as a great place to do business and creating an environment for enterprise to thrive.”

Among the agreed schemes are four skills capital projects, supporting colleges in the region to create a world class learning environment for young people - the first of which starts on site later this week in Kirklees.

The LEP’s successful grant support programme for small and medium sized businesses, has secured a further £18m for the next three years to continue supporting businesses to grow, innovate new products and expand their workforce.

Over £16m has been committed to housing and regeneration projects across the region to deliver the infrastructure for growth.

Additionally, £30m a year for major transport projects in the region was secured as part of the historic Growth Deal, with the first project already underway in Wakefield.

This £55m approval of projects forms part of the wider £627m Growth Deal funding secured for 2015-2021.

The Flying Lizards took the main honours while Heath went close to providing some local success in Saturday’s Halifax Sevens rugby union tournament.

Established in 2012, the Flying Lizards are a specialist sevens team with young players from Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire.

Beaten by Akuma Exiles in the 2014 final, they went one step further this time around as they got the better of three-times winners Caldy 30-19 to claim the Andrew Feather Memorial Cup.

The Codfathers - a team from Whitby - were the winners of the social title after needing extra time to see off Heath’s brave challenge.

Halifax RUFC spokesman Tony Curtis said it had been a “ stunning day.”

He added: “The tournament was fantastically contested with all sides producing some top-quality sevens rugby.

“There were also some great performances from the Giants cheerleaders, while the Crossbar Challenge proved a step too far for the players.”

Organisers thanked the referees, club volunteers and supporters.

She may have a fresh-faced new challenger in GB teammate Kare Adenegan, but Halifax wheelchair racer Hannah Cockroft insists she is still top dog after a convincing triumph at Sunday’s Sainsbury’s Anniversary Games in London.

The 22-year-old stormed to victory in the T34 400m, beating Adenegan by more than two seconds on the same track where she claimed two Paralympic golds in 2012.

The reigning world champion looked at her very best, as a bumper crowd of more than 20,000 roared her over the line.

But with her rivals continuing to push her harder and harder, Cockroft is determined to go even faster in the build-up to next summer’s Rio Games.

“The noise was immense and it really takes you back,” said Cockroft, with the event doubling up as part of the celebrations for this year’s National Paralympic Day.

“I was sat at the start line with Mel Nicholls and we said it was difficult to deal with all the emotions, but I have loved being back out here in London.

“Kare was pushing me all the way – she is so strong for a 14 year old. I’ve been working on my start and doing a lot of work on the hills and I used that to win.

“It’s nice to have the challenge from all these girls coming through. It shows that number one, the 2012 legacy worked and it has brought new girls in who believe in themselves.

“But secondly, my performance still shows I am number one in the world which I am very happy about.

“I have been doing a lot of racing recently but it was a nice confidence booster. I know I can go a lot quicker than that and the girls are going to keep pushing me to improve.”

Cockroft now looks ahead to an assault on three fronts at the World Championships later this year.

Having become world champion initially in 2011 in both the 100m and 200m, she defended her titles in 2013, but two years later Cockroft is not resting on her laurels and is confident she has what it takes to become a triple-world champion for the first time.

“At Doha I’m going in the 100m, 400m, and 800m, so it’s going to be a complete change from any Championships that I’ve ever done before,” she added.

“So that’s scary looking forward, and there’s a lot more competition for the medals than there ever has been.

“But it’s an exciting challenge that motivates me, and competing in London has given me my confidence back.

“So now I need to go away with that confidence, work on the areas I know I fell down on in that race, and just smash it when I get there. I know I can do it now.”

National Paralympic Day is generously supported by Spirit of 2012. Find out more at www.paralympics.org.uk/npd2015

A film that exposes the life threatening risks of swimming in reservoirs has been released by Yorkshire Water and West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service (WYFRS).

The Cold Water Kills film aims to highlight that even a short swim could end in tragic consequences.

The film is aimed at young people who are most likely to be tempted to swim in reservoirs during the school summer holidays.

It was filmed at Ogden reservoir in Halifax and features a hard hitting recreation of a reservoir emergency rescue that ends in tragedy.

The most recent reservoir fatality was at a reservoir in South Yorkshire last summer where a police dive team found the body of a 38 -year-old man.

Alastair Harvey, Recreation Advisor at Yorkshire Water, said: “Reservoirs may look tempting to take a swim in but they can be killers and our dramatic film will hopefully raise awareness of these risks amongst young people.

WYFRS station manager, Ian Thompson, said: “As the school summer holidays start it is vital that youngsters take our safety messages on board when they are out and about.”

Visit www.yorkshirewater.com/node/976 to view the film.

A new road built as part of the Sowerby Bridge Copley Valley development scheme opened today (Monday).

The road, linking Hollas Lane with Fall Lane is a major milestone in the Council inspired development scheme, which will also ‘unlock’ 7 hectares of brownfield land.

The works were carried out by Buckingham Group Contracting Limited, on behalf of Genr8 Developments and has been assisted with £2.2 million of European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) grant funding.

The new highway was completed on time and on budget, and is a major boost for local businesses in Sowerby Bridge, providing improved transport links for HGVs and large delivery vehicles.

Coun Barry Collins, Calderdale Council’s cabinet member for regeneration and economic development, said: “The opening of the link road is an important step forward in the development of the Sowerby Bridge Copley Valley scheme.

“We will carefully analyse its effect on traffic-flows within Sowerby Bridge itself, before considering further measures to help reduce congestion in the town.”

The remainder of the Sowerby Bridge Copley Valley development scheme remains on track, with construction works scheduled to start early next year on the proposed housing and employment developments. Genr8 Developments, the Council’s development partner for the project, has recently appointed local firm Marshall Commercial Development Projects Limited to deliver the employment elements of the scheme, whilst the new housing development will be delivered in partnership with national house builder Taylor Wimpey PLC.

HGV access to businesses on Mearclough Road and Holmes Road will now be from Wakefield Road/Hollas Lane via the new link road.

The opening of the new highway has also allowed essential repair work to take place on Mearclough Bridge, which is a listed structure.

There is now a temporary closure of the bridge and once these repairs are complete, a weight restriction will be put in place on the bridge to prevent further use by HGVs, but cars, cyclists and pedestrians will still be able to cross the bridge in both directions.

Further works are ongoing to the junction between Fall Lane and Canal Road and adjacent Household Waste Recycling Centre and these are planned to be completed over the next couple of weeks.

While these works take place, there may need to be some traffic management measures in place to ensure the safety of workers.

The remainder of the Sowerby Bridge Copley Valley development scheme remains on track, with construction works scheduled to start early next year on the proposed housing and employment developments.

Genr8 Developments, the council’s development partner for the project, has recently appointed local firm Marshall Commercial Development Projects Limited to deliver the employment elements of the scheme, whilst the new housing development will be delivered in partnership with national house builder Taylor Wimpey PLC.

A motorist has been convicted for ignoring the red ‘X’ on the M62, putting firefighters who were heading to an emergency at risk.

The Dewsbury man, who has not been named by police, disregarded signs when West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service and the Highways Agency were heading to a vehicle fire on the westbound carriageway near Hartshead Moor.

Lanes one, two and three were all closed, with lane four remaining open for traffic, and signs were set on the gantries prior to the scene.

But Leeds Magistrates’ Court heard the man, 38, disregarded the signs and was convicted in his absence for ignoring a red X just before 9am on November 2 last year.

PC Nigel Fawcett-Jones, from the Safer Roads and Neighbourhoods Policing Team (West), said: “With the increase in managed and smart motorways across the region it is important that drivers recognise that the signs displayed on the carriageway are there for the safety of all road users.

“This includes members of the public who may have broken down in a live lane or, as in this occasion, the emergency services dealing with an ongoing incident.

“To drive beyond the red ‘X’ places members of the public or those dealing with an incident in real danger.”

The man was convicted in his absence and will return to Leeds Magistrates’ Court for sentencing at a later date.

IF the 50-over format received a shot in the arm at the recent World Cup, it was not in evidence at Derby last night.

In fact, it would be difficult to conceive of a greater contrast between the event in Australia and New Zealand and the mood at The 3aaa County Ground, where the weather was poor, the pitch sluggish, and the occasion completely devoid of atmosphere.

Throw in the odd loud-mouthed drunk who invariably gatecrashes such evenings and the script, in fact, was sadly predictable.

It was 50-over cricket, Jim, but not as we know it in the brave new world.

Nights like this are never going to equip English players to thrive at the highest level, but one who has at least experienced that level shone for Yorkshire in a seven-run win.

Gary Ballance, who has played 16 one-day internationals, the last of them against Sri Lanka at Wellington at the World Cup in March, top-scored with 69 as Yorkshire made 239-6 in a game reduced by pre-match rain to 42-overs-a-side before Derbyshire were left a revised target of 197 to win from 29 overs following a mid-innings shower, the hosts falling short in a tight finish the occasion did not deserve.

It was a controlled innings by Ballance, full of trademark dabs, drives and nurdles. It was also a confidence-boosting one after he was dropped for tomorrow’s third Ashes Test after a run of low scores.

Ballance, who played for Derbyshire before joining Yorkshire in 2008, feels somewhat unfortunate to have lost his England place.

It was only three months ago, after all, that the 25-year-old became the third-fastest England player to 1,000 Test runs behind Herbert Sutcliffe and Len Hutton.

No one could deny, however, that his replacement, Jonny Bairstow, deserves his chance, and Ballance can only do what Bairstow has done – try to win back his place through weight of runs.

This was a step in the right direction, albeit a routine workout for a high-class cricketer.

Ballance came to the crease with Yorkshire 60-2 in the 15th over following the departure of Glenn Maxwell.

The Australian had looked in good touch, off-driving Shiv Thakor for six on his way to 14, before lofting Alex Hughes to deep mid-wicket.

Maxwell’s dismissal followed that of Alex Lees in the 10th over, the left-hander mis-timing a pull off Thakor to mid-on.

Yorkshire slipped to 91-3 at the halfway stage when Andrew Gale went lbw trying to whip Mark Footitt through mid-wicket.

Run-scoring was never simple; Yorkshire managed only 11 fours and three sixes, while they failed to score from 113 of the 252 deliveries they faced.

But they were boosted by a fourth-wicket stand between Ballance and Jack Leaning that realised 83 in 14 overs.

Neither was particularly expansive, but they ensured their side had a total to defend.

Leaning played well for 42 before he was fourth out at 174 in the 35th over, top-edging a pull off Footitt to deep fine-leg.

Ballance went to his half-century from 56 balls and celebrated by launching Alex Hughes for six over long-on.

But after Tim Bresnan was brilliantly held by a diving Alex Hughes at long-on off Thakor, Ballance fell in the 40th over when he slog-swept Ben Cotton to wicketkeeper Tom Poynton.

Yorkshire scored 84 from the last 10 overs, a timely injection, with Liam Plunkett finishing unbeaten on 17.

Footitt was the most successful bowler with 2-45, although he gave Yorkshire an extra over in wides and no balls.

Having had a no-result in their opening Royal London game against Gloucestershire at Scarborough the previous day, Yorkshire had made one change to the side as Jack Brooks replaced Matthew Fisher, the 17-year-old pace bowler.

With seven Royal London games in the space of 11 days, continuing with tomorrow’s match against Surrey at the Oval, it is unrealistic to expect everyone to play every fixture, and Yorkshire plan to rotate their line-up.

Brooks it was who struck the first blow in the Derbyshire reply when Wes Durston pulled to mid-wicket in the third over, Ballance clinging on at the third attempt.

Wayne Madsen was bowled trying to scoop Steve Patterson; Billy Godleman charged Plunkett and was caught behind for 45 from 38 balls, and Thakor was run-out to leave Derbyshire 85-4 in the 15th over.

A stand of 47 in six overs between Hamish Rutherford and Alex Hughes put the chase back on track before Hughes was brilliantly pouched by Maxwell at point, one-handed diving to his left off Patterson.

Bresnan had Chesney Hughes caught behind; Rutherford lofted Patterson to Maxwell at long-on for 56; and Brooks finished things with two wickets in the final over.

It always felt as though Yorkshire were ahead, and so it proved.

DISPLAY OF THE DAY

GARY BALLANCE hit 69 from 70 balls with two fours and a six.

A CONTROVERSIAL decision to place a major rail electrification scheme on hold shows the Government will not provide blank cheques to projects that are over-spending, according to a Yorkshire MP.

Andrew Jones, Under-Secretary for Transport, defended the decision to pause the electrification of the Northern lines from the east of Stalybridge, when he attended the York, North Yorkshire and East Riding Enterprise Partnership annual conference.

The electrification of the transpennine and Midland Main Line routes was put on hold by the Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin last month as he ordered a review of Network Rail’s £38bn investment plan because of rising costs and slipping timescales.

Mr Jones, who is the Tory MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, said: “We have paused it because Network Rail came to Ministers and said, ‘We are seeing projects over-running and over-running in terms of time and money’.

“We cannot be in a position where there is a blank cheque for people who are over-spending.”

He told the audience at The Pavilions of Harrogate: “When civil servants come to talk to you about how they will have a deficit or over-spend in the billions, that is not acceptable.

“If people are in a hole, it is good management to stop them digging. That is what we have done.”

But he added: “We’ll make sure they get back to this project.

“This project is at the heart of empowering the rail network in the North to deliver what we want.

“Rail in the North, will, through electrification, boost capacity and boost connectivity.”

Last week, Batley and Spen MP Jo Cox tabled a House of Commons motion backing the Back on Track campaign calling for the Government to restart the electrification schemes.

Halifax-born Nick Marsh started his defence of his English amateur crown with a steady one-over par 72 at Alwoodley yesterday.

The 20-year-old former Lightcliffe and Elland member who now plays out of Huddersfield was satisfied with his efforts before torrential rain washed out play for the day at the Alwoodley and Pannal courses.

Marsh said: “Anything around one-under, level, one over round here is a good score.

“If you hit it offline you can rack up telephone numbers. It’s a beautiful golf course and such a good test.”

He’s enjoying his defence, with the added pleasure of playing in his home county: “I’ve never defended before, but it’s nice, it feels good and there’s no pressure,” he said.

The first round is due to be completed today with 112 players yet to finish 18 holes.

Qualification for the match play stage of the championship will now be decided on one round, with the top 32 players and ties from each course going forward to the knockout.

The match play is now due to start at Alwoodley tomorrow.

Despite the conditions Somerset’s Josh Hilleard (Farrington Park) managed to put the sparkle into the day with a round of seven-under par 65. He was at the head of a string of low-scorers at Pannal, where 16 players beat par.

Meltham and Huddersfield players filled the top six places in Sunday’s Halifax-Huddersfield Union stroke play competition at Woodsome Hall.

They were headed by Meltham’s Graham McLean, the scratch player shooting 72 and 69 for a one-shot win over Fixby’s plus two player Aaron Schnacke, who is from the Calder Valley and works at Halifax West End.

A pedestrian was hit by a bus outside Bradford Interchange which caused the station to be sealed off this morning (Monday).

The incident happened at 8am in Bridge Street with police and paramedics attending the scene.

A 54-year-old woman was taken to Bradford Royal Infirmary for treatment to a head injury.

Delays may be expected to some services as the station was fully reopened just after 2pm.

A gang of Romanian thieves who targeted elderly cashpoint users in Halifax have each been given two-year prison sentences

The gang, which included two brothers, struck in broad daylight last month, after travelling up to Yorkshire from London and today a judge described the attack as planned and organised.

Judge Robert Bartfield also commended the brave actions of 73-year-old Philip Guy who leapt into action to try and detain one of the gang.

Mr Guy was kicked in the face as one of the trio fled the scene and Judge Bartield awarded him £500 from public funds for his brave actions that morning.

Bradford Crown Court heard how the trio had been lying in wait in the Rawson Street area and moved in as 66-year-old John Byrnes and 78-year-old Kathleen Griffiths tried to use the side-by-side cashpoints

Prosecutor David Lampitt said the thieves struck after the complainants had both entered their personal identification numbers.

In a planned attack the men waved papers in front of their victims to conceal the keypads of the machines and then pressed the amount button to obtain £200 in cash from both complainants.

Mr Byrnes tried to grab one of the men as Mr Guy grappled with another of the thieves.

Mr Lampitt said Mr Guy initially grabbed the collar of one of the men but his fingers were bent back and when he tried to hold onto him by the leg he was kicked in the face.

The men fled in a silver car, but they dropped half of the £400 at the scene along with a pair of lens-less glasses which one of them had been using as a disguise.

A bystander was able to note down the registration number of the car and the next day the men were arrested after the police stopped the vehicle in Cheshire.

At a hearing earlier this month Ioan Lingurar, 25, his 22-year-old brother David, and 30-year-old Nicolae Rostas, all pleaded guilty to charges of theft from the person.

The court heard that each of the men, who all live in the Walthamstow area of London, had previous convictions for similar offences and at the time of the thefts in Halifax Rostas was already subject to a suspended prison sentence.

The defendants’ lawyer Nicholas Whitehorn said they had all worked in the past, but they committed offences essentially for financial reasons.

“Their previous convictions do not paint a very pretty picture on their behalf,” he conceded.

“They have to accept they do have a record and pattern of offending.”

In her victim impact statement Mrs Griffiths said she now had to go to the bank with her son and had to think twice about going out on her own.

“She has had trouble sleeping and revisits the event over and over again in her mind,” said Mr Lampitt.

In his statement Mr Byrnes described having sleepless nights for almost a week and no longer used cash machines outside banks when he was on his own.

Each of the defendants was jailed for two years for the thefts and Rostas was given an extra 18 weeks in prison because of the suspended sentence that was hanging over him at the time.

“I have no doubt and approach your case on the basis that one of the reasons you were coming up here was to commit crime of the sort of which you have been convicted,” the judge told the three men.

Judge Bartfield said the method used by the men to disorientate their victims demonstrated that it was a planned, and to a degree, professional enterprise.

The judge said the serious part of the offence was that people who drew cash out of machines were constantly having to look over their shoulders for people like the defendants.

A 99-year-old woman who died after an electric blanket caught fire has been named.

Hilda Haigh, of Lightcliffe, died after the fire started in the bedroom of her bungalow.

Fire crews from Cleckheaton, Halifax and Odsal attended the fire in Laburnum Grove at 10.45pm on Saturday night.

Firefighters managed to rescue the pensioner from her living room but she later died in hospital.

The blaze caused unsalvageable damage to the bedroom with other parts of the property suffering from heat and smoke damage.

Crews were at the scene until 3am on Sunday.

Following the incident a spokesperson from Cleckheaton fire station said that electric blankets should be serviced and well maintained with home fire advice available from local stations.

An inquest is due to open later this week.

A MIGRANT has been killed in the latest incursion on the Channel Tunnel, as operator Eurotunnel reveals it has blocked more than 37,000 people attempting to cross into the UK this year.

The death comes as some 1,500 people were successful in breaching the fences at Calais last night, and 2,000 stormed the French terminal the night before.

Eurotunnel revealed the scale of the problem as it came under increased pressure to do more to deal with the crisis.

A spokesman for Groupe Eurotunnel, which manages and operates the Channel Tunnel, said that since the arrival of migrants in the area around Calais, it has invested more than 160 million euro (£113 million), including 13 million euro (£9.2 million) in the first six months of 2015, in physical resources - fences, cameras, infra-red detectors - and personnel.

He added: “These considerable investments have already been followed in the second half of the year with new fencing around the platforms. Security patrol staff has been doubled to reach 200 employees, including sniffer dog patrols.

“To support the efforts of law enforcement in the Calais area, Eurotunnel has also provided buses to the authorities to enable them to remove any migrants intercepted.”

The spokesman also said that Eurotunnel has kept the Intergovernmental Commission for the Channel Tunnel and authorities informed, over several months, about the “explosion” in the number of migrants present in Calais.

“Since 1 January 2015, Eurotunnel has, using its own resources, discretely intercepted more than 37,000 migrants, who have been handed over to the law enforcement authorities, and has registered thousands of complaints, all of which have been filed with no further action by the procureur (legal official) of the court in Boulogne.

“The continuous pressure exerted every night is above and beyond that which a concessionaire can reasonably handle and requires a constructive and appropriate response from the governments.

“In this context, Eurotunnel and its employees, who hold to their task despite the psychological pressure that weighs on them, continue to guarantee a rapid and safe Channel crossing for its millions of customers.”

The Road Haulage Association has called on France to deploy its military to secure the port of Calais, saying that the police can no longer cope.

While businesses of all sizes in Kent have united to call for the issue to be dealt with quickly, as they struggle to receive supplies and welcome visitors

Some firms in the area are also reporting huge falls in customers as Operation Stack causes queues of traffic to form outside their businesses.

Kent County Council estimates the impact on the county’s economy is around £1.5 million a day, and that there needs to be intervention from government and Highways England.

The latest death comes as Home Secretary Theresa May chaired a meeting of the Government’s Cobra emergency committee about the crisis.

The Government has agreed an extra £7 million of funding for measures to improve security at Calais and the entrance to the Channel Tunnel.

Conservative MP for Folkestone, Damian Collins, said: “This investment is very welcome, it doesn’t address the whole problem. It’s partly an issue of enforcement from French authorities.

“They have allowed people willingly to break into the Channel Tunnel site. I can’t believe they would be that lax in protecting an airport or another sensitive facility.

“But that has happened constantly throughout the summer. They have to enforce their own restrictions.”

He added that while the UK had a role to play, it is fundamentally French territory and that the French government needs to put more of its resources into the tunnel and the port.

According to French media, the migrant is the ninth to be killed at the tunnel since the start of June, and is believed to be a Sudanese national aged in his late 20s.

It is thought that he was hit by a lorry as he tried to climb over a shuttle.

Xavier Bertrand, former minister for labour, employment and health and candidate for Nord-Pas-de-Calais-Picardie in regional elections this year, said: “In Calais, it’s a human drama which is taking place every day.

“Only a naval blockade at the Libyan coast could provide a solution.

“The UK has responsibility in this matter too, England allows these migrants to work without papers. The English border must be at Dover and not Calais.”

A Eurotunnel spokesman was quoted by France 24 as saying all the company’s security staff - about 200 people - were used to prevent the intrusions into the site which largely took place between midnight and 6am.

Natacha Bouchart, mayor of Calais, has called for a summit involving ministers from France and Britain, Eurotunnel, the ports, and the municipality of Calais.

Ms Bouchart previously said Britain was “attracting” migrants as it had a “much more favourable” benefits system.

“You have a much more favourable regime in Britain than in other European countries,” the mayor said.

The migrant crisis has escalated in recent months, with thousands displaced from countries including Eritrea, Syria and Afghanistan setting up camp near the port.

GARY BALLANCE plans to turn a deaf ear to those critics telling him to change his technique as he battles to win back his England place.

The Yorkshire batsman says he is “not changing anything” after he was dropped for the third Ashes Test starting at Edgbaston today.

Former England captain Michael Vaughan and ex-England batsman Kevin Pietersen are among those who have highlighted flaws in Ballance’s game.

Vaughan said the player “needs to work hard on the technical side” and is “stuck on the crease”, while Pietersen said he had concerns Ballance was “going to struggle” against the Australians and that he “noticed slight issues with his technique against (Mitchell) Johnson” when batting with him in the previous Ashes campaign.

Ballance, 25, accepts that he must work hard at his game and is nowhere near the finished article.

However, he intends to stick to the method that has given him a Test average of just under 50 and which recently saw him become the third-fastest England player to 1,000 Test runs behind Herbert Sutcliffe and Len Hutton.

“A lot of people are telling me I need to change, but what I’ve had, and what I’ve got now, is how I’ve got to playing for England in the first place,” said Ballance.

“My whole career, it’s how I’ve made runs, and I don’t think a few bad games should suddenly change things, so I’m not changing anything.

“I’m obviously looking to improve still, looking at areas I can improve as a player, and hopefully I’ll keep improving and developing.”

Ballance has paid a high price for averaging 17.5 in his last 10 Test innings and been replaced by his Yorkshire team-mate Jonny Bairstow, whom he says “fully deserves his selection”.

However, Ballance’s recent record is not as poor as that of Ian Bell, who has kept his place, and the left-hander’s overall record remains strikingly good – 1,194 runs in 15 Tests at 47.76.

“When I was scoring runs, people were saying, ‘that’s a good technique’,” added Ballance.

“Suddenly, after two or three bad games for England, my technique is wrong, so I’ve just got to deal with that.

“Every cricketer has to deal with it, and it’s a shame that’s how it is sometimes.

“But I’m not bitter; I just want to look forward and try to improve as a player.”

Ballance must now effectively do what Bairstow did – force his way back through sheer weight of runs.

Bairstow responded superbly to being overlooked on the spring tour of the West Indies, scoring 980 runs in 12 County Championship innings for Yorkshire at an average of 108.88, with five hundreds and four fifties.

Ballance is now in a run of seven one-day games for Yorkshire in 11 days – continuing with today’s Royal London Cup match against Surrey at the Oval (10.30 start).

He began that sequence with an innings of 31 in the no-result against Gloucestershire at Scarborough on Sunday, and followed it with a match-winning 69 against his former club Derbyshire in a seven-run victory in Derby on Monday.

“I’ve got this run of one-day matches now with Yorkshire, and I just want to win games for the club,” said Ballance.

“I don’t want to look too far ahead as regards my own situation, and, on a personal note, it was just good to get a few runs against Derbyshire and to get a bit of form that hopefully I can 
take into the rest of the competition.

“It’s been a tough summer personally, but I feel I’m playing quite nicely without necessarily getting the runs on the board.

“I played well in the first Test at Cardiff and we got a win 
there, and we’ve played two top sides in Australia and New Zealand.”

Ballance admits he was disappointed to be left out for the third Test and there is an air of quiet defiance about him that does not bode well for county opponents in the coming days.

At the same time, he is positive about his chances of regaining his Test place and clearly in the mood to prove people wrong.

“I was obviously disappointed to miss out (on the third Test), but I’ve had a few days to think about it and I wasn’t going to mope around,” he added.

“I was just going to get over it, look forward and try my best to improve as a player.

“That’s how sport goes sometimes, how cricket goes.

“You can’t mope around and be too gutted about things.

“I’ve got an opportunity now to play some cricket for Yorkshire and to do well for them, and, if I can do that, hopefully the rest will take care of itself.”

Yorkshire squad versus Surrey (from): Ballance, Bresnan, Brooks, Carver, Fisher, Gale, Gibson, Hodd, Leaning, Lees, Maxwell, Patterson, Plunkett, Pyrah, Rhodes.

Halifax RLFC will host Widnes Vikings in their first Qualifiers Super 8s game on Sunday week.

The fixtures for the new phase of the season were announced today with teams seeded according to finishing positions at the bottom of Suoper League and top of the Championship.

Halifax, who finished fourth in the Championship, have three home games and four away matches.

The Sky TV cameras will return to the Shay on Saturday, September 5 when Salford visit.

Halifax’s programme finishes at Odsal on September 27 in a rematch with Bradford Bulls, who were beaten narrowly at the Shay on Sunday.

Round by Round

August 8: Leigh Centurions v Hull KR

August 9: Bradford Bulls v Sheffield Eagles, Halifax v Widnes Vikings, Salford Red Devils v Wakefield Wildcats.

August 15: Wakefield Wildcats v Bradford Bulls.

August 16: Hull KR v Halifax, Salford Red Devils v Leigh Centurions, Widnes Vikings v Sheffield Eagles

August 22: Leigh Centurions v Wakefield Wildcats.

August 23: Bradford Bulls v Salford Red Devils, Sheffield Eagles v Halifax (4.15), Widnes Vikings v Hull KR.

September 5: Halifax v Salford Red Devils (3.00pm, Sky Sports).

September 6 Bradford Bulls v Widnes Vikings, Hull KR v Wakefield Wildcats, Leigh Centurions v Sheffield Eagles.

September 12: Wakefield Wildcats v Widnes Vikings.

September 13: Halifax v Leigh Centurions, Hull KR v Bradford Bulls, Salford Red Devils v Sheffield Eagles.

September 18: Sheffield Eagles v Hull KR.

September 19: Wakefield Wildcats v Halifax (6.00pm .

September 20: Leigh Centurions v Bradford Bulls, Widnes Vikings v Salford Red Devils.

September 27: Bradford Bulls v Halifax, Hull KR v Salford Red Devils, Sheffield Eagles v Wakefield Wildcats, Widnes Vikings v Leigh Centurions.

HOW often did we hear during Yorkshire’s disastrous T20 campaign that the chief problems were the bowling up front and at the death and the general inconsistency with the bat?

Why, it almost became a broken record as defeat after defeat was dissected and discussed.

They say that those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it, and there was a strong sense of deja vu for Yorkshire at The Oval today.

Yes, you guessed it, the chief problems were the bowling up front and at the death and the general inconsistency with the bat, resulting in a six-run defeat in a match that could so easily have gone the other way.

In scoring 265-8 after winning the toss, Surrey seized on that Yorkshire bowling up front.

After seven overs, the total was 52-0, and Steven Davies, the former England one-day wicketkeeper, had 39 of them, including a flurry of the most sweetly-timed fours you could possibly see.

Matthew Fisher, the 17-year-old pace bowler, conceded 19 runs from the first two overs from the Pavilion End, and although Tim Bresnan was tidier from the Vauxhall End, 12 runs came off his third over, followed by 11 from the opening over bowled by off-spinner Glenn Maxwell.

At that stage, it looked like a typical Oval tale of batsmen filling their boots and bowlers cursing the Kennington turf.

Enter Steve Patterson.

From the opening ball of the eighth over, Patterson bowled Davies from the Pavilion end.

In his next over, Patterson had the other opening batsman, Jason Roy, caught at mid-wicket off a tame clip.

On Monday, Davies and Roy had added 195 for the first-wicket in a thumping win over Northants, but here they were unable to keep the stand going.

Patterson’s introduction changed the dynamic and proved his increasing value to the team.

Having struck 52 in those first seven overs, Surrey managed only 19 off the next seven as Karl Carver, the 19-year-old left-arm spinner making his List A debut, also tied the home team down.

Carver, who has played three first-class games and three T20 matches, struck with his ninth ball when Gary Wilson tried to strike inside-out over the off-side and picked out Fisher at mid-off.

Carver’s second wicket was one for the scrapbook, the great Kumar Sangakkara top-edging a sweep to Andrew Gale at square-leg that left Surrey 107-4 in the 25th.

It was a measure of how well Yorkshire had pulled things back that Sangakkara’s 23 runs – made from 45 balls in 67 minutes – all came in singles.

The statistic was a measure, too, of Sangakkara’s patience borne of experience; whereas Carver was playing his first List A match, the Sri Lankan was playing his 506th.

Such was Carver’s accuracy, he conceded only one boundary, Ben Foakes clubbing the fourth ball of his ninth over through mid-on towards the OCS Stand.

Yorkshire missed at least three chances to run out Foakes, who finally fell for 44 when Maxwell had him caught at mid-wicket by Liam Plunkett.

When James Burke presented Fisher with a simple caught-and-bowled, Surrey were 160-6 in the 35th over and the visitors were in command.

Gareth Batty was seventh out at 187, presenting Plunkett with another catch at mid-wicket off Maxwell, before Surrey rallied in a storming finish.

Tom Curran was the spark, the 20-year-old son of the late Zimbabwean all-rounder Kevin Curran providing impetus and support to Zafar Ansari.

Curran helped hit 22 runs off a Maxwell over, including a reverse-hit that must have made the Australian think that he was bowling to a mirror image of himself.

The eighth-wicket pair added 66 from 43 balls before Fisher bowled Curran for 44, made from 25 balls with six fours and two sixes.

Ansara finished undefeated on 66 from 82 balls with three fours and two sixes, Surrey scoring 65-1 from the last five overs as Bresnan (four) and Plunkett (two) were left with overs in the tank.

Yorkshire’s reply began poorly when Andrew Gale went lbw to Sam Curran in the second over.

Curran, a 17-year-old left-arm pace bowler and no relation of Tom, should have had his name on the scorecard again only to drop Maxwell on 21 at fine-leg off Jade Dernbach.

Maxwell went on to 55 - his second-highest score for the county - before edging behind an attempted cut off Ansari’s left-arm spin after Alex Lees had been held at mid-on.

Gary Ballance played well for 77, made from 97 balls with six fours, and looked to be leading Yorkshire home in company with Jack Leaning.

But when Leaning was fourth out at 175 in the 37th over, caught at long-on, the innings fell away as Andrew Hodd picked out mid-off, Ballance found deep square-leg and Bresnan holed out to long-on, with Yorkshire unable to get the 14 they required off the final over bowled by Tom Curran.

A PENSIONER wellbeing index has revealed a north/south divide when it comes to the best places in the country to retire to.

North Yorkshire is the only area in northern England to feature in the top 20 places to live a long, healthy and safe retirement, according to a survey compiled by insurer Prudential.

The league table is dominated by the south west of England, with Devon coming out top, Dorset second and Gloucestershire (7), Wiltshire (12), Somerset (13) and Cornwall (19) all featuring.

The index, which covers England and Wales, was calculated through census data and from research carried out by the insurer.

North Yorkshire is 10th in the table, which also includes a number of counties in the south of England.

Age UK said wide variations in the quality of life for older people should be tackled urgently.

The research found that among people retiring in 2015, more than one third (36 per cent) of those in the south west expect to be able to afford to leave an inheritance to their families - well above the UK average of 29 per cent.

The largely rural make-up of Devon contributed towards a relatively low crime rate, while the county’s pensioner life expectancy is in the national top 10 for both men and women.

Devon was also found to have an above-average number of healthcare workers per 1,000 people, at 65.6 compared with a national average of 60.9.

Pensioners in Dorset have the longest life expectancies. The average 65-year-old woman there can expect to live for another 23 years and the average 65-year-old man another 20 years.

Caroline Abrahams, Charity Director at Age UK, said: “More and more of us are living longer in better health but there is still a significant variation in how many years people can expect to live in good health depending on the part of the country they live in.

“If we want a country where older people everywhere can expect to enjoy a well-deserved healthy retirement, this is something which needs to be addressed urgently.”

The findings were welcomed in North Yorkshire which previously scored well in another survey, in 2012, when Craven was found to be the best area in the country to retire to.

Clare Wood, Executive Member for Adult Social Care at North Yorkshire County Council, said: “It is very gratifying that the benefits and delights of North Yorkshire as an extremely healthy and pleasant place to which to retire have been recognised in this way.

“We’re delighted that the support services provided by the County Council, the district councils, the health service and all our other partners have given North Yorkshire a place in the Top Ten, and the only place from the North of England in the Top Twenty.

“The number of older people in North Yorkshire is rising all the time, in large part as a result of these factors.

“This means, of course, that compared with some of our neighbouring counties and districts, we have to find a disproportionately larger amount of money and resources to maintain that high quality of life – a fact which is unfortunately sometimes overlooked when funding is being apportioned.”