Brief batting appearance (6)
I believe the answer is:
inform
'brief' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'batting appearance' is the wordplay.
'batting' becomes 'in'.
'appearance' becomes 'form' (form is a kind of appearance**).
'in'+'form'='INFORM'
(Other definitions for inform that I've seen before include "Tell (someone)" , "Spill the beans" , "effective" , "Tell - shop" , "snitch?" .)