Just the right level of difficulty for a Quiptic, I thought. Thanks to Pan. Definitions are underlined in the clues.
Across
1 Bereaved woman welcoming new opportunity for action (6)
WINDOW : WIDOW(bereaved woman) containing(welcoming) N(abbrev. for “new”).
5 Find hybrid pig in new Canadian city (8)
WINNIPEG : Anagram of(hybrid) PIG IN NEW.
9 Glove stolen by thieving Aunt Letitia (8)
GAUNTLET : Hidden in(stolen by) “thieving Aunt Letitia “.
10 Bill has no time to get something to put in drink (6)
NOTICE : NO + T(abbrev. for “time”) plus(to get) ICE(something to put in drink).
11 Normal vision needed for this form of cricket? (6-6)
TWENTY-TWENTY : Double defn: 1st: Normal visual acuity, the ability to read the standard chart at a distance of 20 feet; and 2nd: A form of one-day cricket, in which each side bats for 20 overs – Twenty20.
13 Container for blackbird (4)
BOWL : B(abbrev. for “black”) + OWL(a bird).
14 Setter taking position said to make sense (8)
EYESIGHT : Homophone of(said) “I”(self-referential pronoun for the crossword setter) plus(taking) “site”(a position;a location).
Defn: One of the five senses.
17 Crusoe arranged to get hold of new source of gunpowder to cadge (8)
SCROUNGE : Anagram of(arranged) CRUSOE containing(to get hold of) [ N(abbrev. for “new”) + 1st letter of(source of) “gunpowder ” ].
18 Appear in toilet at end of break (4)
LOOK : LOO(slang for the toilet) + last letter of(end of) “break “.
Answer: To appear, as in “they look/appear the same to me”.
20 Men twirl rags furiously in test of strength (3,9)
ARM WRESTLING : Anagram of(furiously) MEN TWIRL RAGS.
23 Hunter changed mind about returning gold (6)
NIMROD : Anagram of(changed) MIND containing(about) reversal of(returning) OR(the colour of gold in heraldry).
Answer: The biblical hunter.
24 Place to drink to Flintoff’s sixth hundred is spotless (8)
INNOCENT : INN(a place to have a drink in) plus(to) 6th letter of(…’s sixth) “Flintoff ” + CENT(abbrev. for “century”;a hundred). Another cricketing reference – to Andrew Flintoff, English batsman, who, I’m sure, scored more than 6 centuries.
25 Urge one lass to be extravagant with money (8)
PRODIGAL : PROD(to urge) + I(Roman numeral for “one”) + GAL(an informal term for a girl).
26 Less friendly Chinese leader not getting any younger (6)
COLDER : 1st letter of(… leader) “Chinese ” + OLDER(not getting any younger).
Down
2 Muslim ambassador embracing community leader (4)
IMAM : Hidden in(embracing) “Muslim ambassador “.
Answer: … and in the Muslim community.
3 Bestow money on extremely loyal old sculptor (9)
DONATELLO : DONATE(to bestow money;to give money to) placed above(on, in a down clue) 1st and last letters of(extremely) “loyal ” + O(abbrev. for “old”).
Answer: Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi, to be exact, a Renaissance sculptor from Florence.
4 Everything put in foolish place to store money (6)
WALLET : ALL(everything) contained in(put in) WET(British for “foolish” or even feeble).
5,7,21 Having the most sincere intentions (expressed by having the most perfect legal document) (4,3,4,4,2,3,5)
WITH THE BEST WILL IN THE WORLD : Cryptic defn: Literally, with the most perfect last will and testament in the world.
6 Turned up at home to score drug twice at beginning of night, just before half eleven (8)
NINETEEN : Reversal of( Turned up, in a down clue) IN(at home) + NET(to score a goal, in games like football) E,E(twice the abbrev. for the drug Ecstasy) + 1st letter of(beginning of) “night “.
Answer: The number just before twenty;half of the answer to 11 across. Nice misdirection, spelling out the clue number.
7 See 5
8 Shield with coat of arms features queen’s penultimate hairdo in badly-chosen surroundings (10)
ESCUTCHEON : Last but one letter of(…’s penultimate) “queen ” + [ CUT(a hairdo;a style of cutting the hair) contained in(in … surroundings) anagram of(badly) CHOSEN].
12 Labourer‘s bird eating battered cod (3,7)
HOD CARRIER : HARRIER(any of various narrow-winged hawks) containing(eating) anagram of(battered) COD.
15 Illinois soldier in nearby pub is not making sense (9)
ILLOGICAL : IL(abbrev. for the US state of Illinois) + [ GI(term for a US soldier) contained in(in) LOCAL(a nearby pub where one regularly goes to) ].
16 Competitor not expected to win is grounded, anyway (8)
UNDERDOG : Anagram of(anyway) GROUNDED.
19 Choose Rob in audition for The Garden Party? (6)
PICNIC : Homophone of(in audition) “pick”(to choose) “nick”(slang for to rob;to steal).
21 See 5
22 Joint in pipework needed (4)
KNEE : Hidden in(in) “pipework needed “.
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