Usual inventiveness and clever misdirections – includes a mini theme as yet unexplained
All clues followed by * indicate words connected with cricket
Across
1* This puzzle’s girl MAIDEN
5 I bowled line splitting open opponent’s weakness FOIBLE
I B (bowled) L (line) in FOE (opponent)
9 Invented a couple of headgear items in disabled state INVALIDHOOD
INV (invented) A LID HOOD (2 items of headgear)
10 Comedian to consider penning comedy book SECOMBE Harry
COM (comedy) B (book) in SEE (consider)
11 Woman embraced by bad actor returned insincere greeting MWAH air kiss
W (woman) in HAM< (bad actor returned)
13 Typical fish product (tails removed) in UK city TRURO
TRU[e] (typical) RO[e]
14 Spanish mayor caught drunken lad tucking into beer ALCALDE
C (caught) (LAD)* in ALE (beer)
17 Novice in church getting high note there CHELA
CH (church) E (note) LA (there) why high?
19 Tawny animal is golden when done over in varnish ROSIN OIL
LION (tawny animal) IS OR (is golden)< (done over)
21 Tear bordering a French historic photograph SUN PRINT
UN (a in French) in SPRINT (tear)
23 Local stubble field trimmed before last of maize crop up ARISE
ARIS[h] (local stubble field trimmed) [maiz]E
25 Are quantities of wood logs? RECORDS
27* This puzzle’s tar? PITCH
28 Puckish trick, deluding each knave’s eyes, primarily DEKE (ice hockey)
first letters of Deluding Each Knave’s Eyes
29 Nothing enshrined by noble old poet ARIOSTO Ludovico
O (nothing) in ARISTO (noble)
30 Love and wretched greed never concealed by Shakespeare OVERGREENED
O (love) (GREED NEVER)*
31 Show signs of one escaping electron stream BETRAY BET[a] RAY
32* This puzzle’s wrinkle? CREASE
Down
1 Payment method involved in scam with trader? MASTERCARD
(SCAM TRADER)*
2 Have to suffer fashionable treatment with no end to disease INCUR
IN (treatment) CURE (treatment) minus [diseas]E
3 Staff upset about volume, covering up for doormen DVORNIKS
4 Name on rolls? (Irish rolls, presumably) EAMONN (NAME ON)*
5* This puzzle’s novelist? FIELDING
6 Conservative Party upset about one of verses ODIC
I (one) in C (Conservative) DO (party)<
7* This puzzle’s hat? BOWLER
8 Mark on ship, laden with oil, adrift LOAD LINE (LADEN OIL)*
12 Listen to loveless couple’s plight, expressing sincerity HEART-WHOLE
15 Pig herder no longer rank in East Sussex resort HOG-REEVE
GREE (rank – obsolete) in HOVE (actually)
16* This puzzle’s limitation? BOUNDARY
18 Woman husband’s first to ogle in fur HERMIONE
H[usband] O[gle] in ERMINE (fur)
20* This puzzle’s little door WICKET
22 Very good support, though increasingly shrill PIPIER
PI (very good) PIER (support)
24 A situation, tense earlier, becoming confused AT SEA
A SEAT (a situation) T (tense) moved
26 Jazz song preceding a tune from India RAGA RAG (jazz song) A
( )* = anagram [ ] = omit < = reverse dd = double definition
Fairly sailed through this on Sunday afternoon, but I, too, couldn’t see why the cricket theme. Googling seems to suggest that a 1200 is a type of cricket bat, but I don’t know for sure if that is it.
And 1200 in Roman numerals is?
D’oh!
Oh, sorry, a homer is baseball, not cricket.