Admit wife into cricket side (3)
I believe the answer is:
own
'admit' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'wife into cricket side' is the wordplay.
'wife' becomes 'w'.
'into' indicates putting letters inside.
'cricket side' becomes 'on'.
'w' placed inside 'on' is 'OWN'.
(Other definitions for own that I've seen before include "Have in one's possession" , "Acknowledge" , "Control" , "Private" , "Be in legal possession of (3)" .)