Absence of vendor - on strike perhaps? (3,3)
I believe the answer is:
not out
'on strike perhaps?' is the definition.
(a batsman striking is presumably not out)
'absence of vendor' is the wordplay.
'absence of' becomes 'no'.
'vendor' becomes 'tout' (tout is a kind of vendor).
'no'+'tout'='NOT-OUT'
(Other definitions for not out that I've seen before include "Decision favourable to batsman" , "Refusal of an appeal?" , "Decision in batsman's favour" .)