Applauds quality in ball of ice (9)

I believe the answer is:

hailstone

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'ice' is the definition.
(I know that hailstone is a type of ice)

'applauds quality' is the wordplay.
'applauds' becomes 'hails' (hailing is a kind of applauding).
'quality' becomes 'tone' (synonyms).
'hails'+'tone'='HAILSTONE'

'in ball of' acts as a link.
This may not be right. Some or all of it may belong to another bit of the clue.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for hailstone that I've seen before include "bit of a storm" , "sign of cold weather" , "bit icy" , "Falling ice" , "one in the shower" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.

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