A canny batsman? (6)
I believe the answer is:
opener
'batsman?' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
I can't explain the remainder of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for opener that I've seen before include "First part" , "See 1" , "Batsman who starts innings" , "Key -- one of two batsman in a side" , "It may provide access to food" .)