Yorkshire to pay tribute to Jo Cox

Yorkshire will hold a minute's silence at Headingley and wear black armbands during their NatWest Blast match against Nottinghamshire at Headingley as a mark of respect for Jo Cox, the Batley and Spen MP, who died on Thursday after she was shot and stabbed while working in her home constituency.

A Yorkshire statement said: "The whole of Yorkshire Cricket will be paying tribute to local MP Jo Cox from Batley and Spen at Headingley tonight following her tragic death in senseless circumstances yesterday.

"Ahead of tonight's NatWest T20 Blast match against Notts Outlaws, players, officials, members and spectators will join together and remember Jo by observing a minute's silence. The players will also wear black armbands during tonight's match.

Mark Arthur, Yorkshire's chief executive, said: "Jo was a kind, intelligent person who was generous with her time. She genuinely wanted to help others, particularly those in her constituency, and make a difference to their lives. My heart goes out to her husband Brendan and their two young children."

Andrew Gale, Yorkshire's Championship captain, tweeted: "What a sad day, 2 children go to bed tonight without a mum. A women was doing a job she was passionate about and lost her life. I lived in Birstall for 5 years and still own the house there and I'm saddened that we see this on our door step. My thoughts go to her family."

Mount Cricket Club, who play in the Huddersfield Central League and who are in the Batley and Spen consituency, had been planning to make the MP patron of the club. They will also hold a minute's silence before their match on Saturday. A club statement on Facebook said: "Jo was a true friend of Mount and only a couple of weeks ago had visited the ground to discuss what she could do to help the club prepare and ensure Vatican tour, scheduled for 2016, would be a success for the town in bringing communities and faiths together."