Hob has given us a topical puzzle.
For those who like the topic this puzzle will be enjoyable. For those who don’t like the topic this may have been a trial.
Often with themed puzzles these days, you don’t need to know anything about the theme when solving the clues. For today’s puzzle a knowledge of aspects of the theme would be useful.
Fortunately, Test cricket is something I understand and enjoy so this wasn’t a trial for me.
For those without a cricketing bent, the England cricket team is playing Test Matches in BANGLADESH at the moment. Indeed the second Test begins tomorrow in DHAKA. The first Test was played last week in CHITTAGONG.
The grid contains the name of many cricketers in the Test squad currently in BANGLADESH: Joe ROOT; Stuart BROAD, Alastair COOK, Gareth BATTY, Ben STOKES and Steven FINN. The clues reference Mark WOOD and MOEEN Ali. Additionally there is a reference to Geoffrey BOYCOTT, a cricket legend in many peoples’ eyes in the clues. The clues have many cricketing allusions.
There were no particularly complex clues today. CITATION was the most complex with a container within a container.
| Across | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Clue | Wordplay | Entry |
|
7
|
Bob cut short-pitched delivery (6)
|
BOUNCER (short pitched delivery from a bowler in cricket) excluding the final letter (cut) R. A cut is also the name of a batsman’s shot in cricket.
|
BOUNCE (bob [up and down])
|
|
8
|
Family of doctors, not very large one (6)
|
MEDICOS (doctors) excluding (not) OS (outsize; very large) + I (one)
|
MEDICI (The House of MEDICI was an Italian banking family, political dynasty and later royal house that first began to gather prominence under Cosimo de’ MEDICI in the Republic of Florence during the first half of the 15th century)
|
|
9 / 23
|
Willing male, adult moving East to India or Australia? (4,4)
|
(TESTATE [having made a will; willing] + M [male]) with the A (adult) moving to the right [East] TEST TEA M |
TEST TEAM (India and Australia are both cricketing TEST TEAMs)
|
|
10
|
Note label on luggage’s most essential in city in 21 (10)
|
CHIT (note) + TAG (label) + ON + G (middle letter of [most essential] LUGGAGE)
|
CHITTAGONG (city in BANGLADESH [21 across])
|
|
12
|
Daughter attending sportsmen’s dance in city in 21 (5)
|
D (daughter) + HAKA (Maori ceremonial war dance; a similar dance performed by New Zealanders, e.g. by rugby players before a match)
|
DHAKA (capital city of BANGLADESH [21 across])
|
|
13
|
Unruly child put in rival’s phone setting (7)
|
BRAT (unruly child) contained in (put in) VIE (rival) VI (BRAT) E |
VIBRATE (mobile phone’s can be set to VIBRATE rather than ring or play an annoying tune that the phone owner thinks is wonderful)
|
|
15
|
Beginning to find jumper extremely tight (4)
|
ROO (kangaROO [jumper]) + T (last letter of [extremely] TIGHT) I suppose extremely could also refer to the first letter or even to both first and last given that they are the same character.
|
ROOT (source; beginning)
|
|
16
|
Run out before Bill bowled first wide (5)
|
B (bowled in cricket scoring notation) + RO (run out in cricket scoring notation) + AD (advertisement; poster; bill)
|
BROAD (wide)
|
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17
|
Criminal has no right to be captain (4)
|
CROOK (criminal) excluding (has no) R (right)
|
COOK (reference Captain James COOK [1728 – 1779], British explorer; also reference Alastair COOK [born 1984], English Test cricket captain)
|
|
18
|
Fix cover back on front of book (7)
|
LID (cover) reversed (back) + EMMA (novel by Jane Austen) DIL< EMMA |
DILEMMA (predicament; fix)
|
|
20
|
Cricket club try losing runs? That’s crazy (5)
|
BAT (club used to play cricket) + TRY excluding (losing) R (runs in cricket scoring notation)
|
BATTY (crazy)
|
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21
|
Boycott pleased he’s played for 9 23 (10)
|
BAN (boycott) + GLAD (pleased) + an anagram of (played) HE’S BAN GLAD ESH* |
BANGLADESH (another Country that has a TEST TEAM (9 and 23 across) in cricket)
|
|
25
|
Maybe adds Wood to side, starting after second draw (6)
|
S (second) + TOKE (puff or draw on a cigarette) + S (first letter of [starting] SIDE)
|
STOKES (feeds with fuel, e.g. wood)
|
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26
|
Very beginning of year over in Scandinavian setting (3,3)
|
(Y [year] + O [over in cricket scoring notation]) contained in (in … setting]) DANE (native of Denmark; Scandinavian) DA (Y O) NE |
DAY ONE (very beginning)
|
| Down | |||
|
1
|
Short ball hit over point ? Clever! (4)
|
Anagram of (hit) BALL excluding the final letter (short) L + E (East; point of the compass) This being a down clue the anagram sits over the point. ABL* E |
ABLE (clever)
|
|
2
|
Take away sandwich followed broadcast (8)
|
SUB (SUBmarine sandwich [large sandwich made with a bread roll long, thin and rounded enough to suggest the shape of a SUBmarine]) + TRACT (sounds like [broadcast] TRACKED [followed])
|
SUBTRACT (take way)
|
|
3
|
Australian native at crease, accruing century in Adelaide initially (6) |
ACACIA (first letters of [initially] of AT CREASE ACCRUING CENTURY IN AUSTRALIA)
|
ACACIA (a plant that is native to Australia)
|
|
4
|
Final resting place in Bath, when injured in action (8)
|
Anagram of (when injured) BATH contained in (in) DEED (action) DE (ATHB*) ED |
DEATHBED (final resting place)
|
|
5
|
Sex good right away, after a stiffener? (6)
|
VI (sex- as a prefix denotes six; VI denotes the Roman numerals for six) + A + G (good) + R (right) + A (away when denoting away matches in sport)
|
VIAGRA (proprietary name for sildenafil citrate, a drug used in treating impotence in males)
|
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6
|
European getting flipper to spin at last (4)
|
FIN (flipper) + N (final letter of [at last] SPIN)
|
FINN (native of Finland; European)
|
|
11
|
Whole female 23 dismissed in the morning after batting (9)
|
IN (batting) + VIOLA (lady’s name; female) + TEAM (23 across excluding (dismissed) AM [ante meridiem; morning])
|
INVIOLATE (entire; whole)
|
|
12
|
Dead designer returning as Star Wars robot (5)
|
D (dead) + (DIOR [reference Christian DIOR [1905 – 1957], French fashion designer] reversed [returning]) D ROID< |
DROID (robot in Star Wars films)
|
|
14
|
Black English footballer at Stoke City (5)
|
E (English) + BONY (reference Wilfried BONY [born 1988], professional footballer with Stoke City)
|
EBONY (very dark brownish-black colour)
|
|
16
|
Regretted bad running with Moeen (8)
|
Anagram of (running with) BAD and MOEEN BEMOANED* |
BEMOANED (lamented; regretted)
|
|
17
|
Against hiding tasteless articles being carried by XI getting award (8) |
CON (against) containing (hiding) (TAT [tasteless articles] contained in [carried by II [representation of eleven; XI in Roman numerals) C (I (TAT) I) ON |
CITATION (official recognition of achievement ; award)
|
|
19
|
Number one amongst cricket sides (6)
|
I (one) contained in (among) (LEG [one of the sides on a cricket field, the other being the OFF side] + ON [another term for the LEG side]) LEG (I) ON |
LEGION (a very great number)
|
|
20
|
Kill using tear gas internally (6)
|
HE (helium, a gas) contained in (internally) BEAD (tear) BE (HE) AD |
BEHEAD (kill)
|
|
22
|
Further article by group of players (4)
|
A (indefinite article) + LSO (London Symphony Orchestra, a group of musical instrument players)
|
ALSO (further)
|
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24
|
Sailor boy not yet up and about (4)
|
AB (able seaman) + ED (boy’s name)
|
ABED (in BED; not yet up and about)
|
I enjoyed the cricket theme and trying to spot all the English players, though hadn’t heard of Gareth BATTY. TOKE for ‘draw’ was new to me and I missed the parsing of BEHEAD. The misdirection of the ‘group of players’ in 22d was good. I suppose VIAGRA is an obvious candidate for COD, but I liked the (possibly related?) VIBRATE best.
Thanks to Hob and Duncan
An excellent idea to have a crossword themed around a different game (even if there were hints of football – both round and oval ball – in a couple of clues).
I struggled to parse some answers. 9/23 was a case in point; I’d got the idea that ‘willing male’ was ‘testator’ and it was ages before the penny dropped. And STOKES was my last in after I concluded that the definition had to be ‘maybe adds Wood to’ – with ‘false capitalisation’ – but I’d never heard of ‘toke’ so couldn’t parse it.
Great stuff with too many fine clues to nominate a favourite. Thanks, Hob and Duncan
Thanks Hob and Duncan
I too thought this was an excellent puzzle, and applaud Hob’s skill in getting so many team members in the grid, and clueing them in such a way that specialist knowledge wasn’t necessary to complete the solve.
Re TOKE in 25, I believe that it most commonly refers to ‘cigarettes’ with legally dubious content. 😉
I guess I’m a bit out of touch with the current cricket squad, as I totally failed to spot any of the names, but that didn’t stop me completing the puzzle. In the end, it was the pair at 7ac and 1dn where I needed help.
As to “toke”, I thought that was generally known. I must hang out with the wrong sort/read the wrong books/watch the wrong films and TV programmes. (Although smoking of any sort has never been one of my vices.)
Agree with above comments that toke is used – almost exclusively I thought – of drawing on a joint.
Being a lifelong cricket follower I appreciated the theme, though living in Adelaide was terribly upset to see Australia erroneously replacing Adelaide in the parsing of ACACIA.
As an addition to @1WordPlodder’s suggestion about the two possibly related “v” clues, perhaps “adds Wood to” is also relevant. I’ll leave that with you.
Thanks to Hob and duncanshiell.
Hello gwep above,
I’ve just seen your post – definitely no comment!
Those Croweaters, I don’t know…