Cat has run in following men, reportedly in confusion (9)
I believe the answer is:
maelstrom
'confusion' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'cat has run in following men reportedly' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'run' could be 'r' (cricket abbreviation) and 'r' is found within the answer.
'cat' could be 'tom' (a tom is a male cat) and 'tom' is found in the remaining letters.
'men' could be 'm' (abbreviation) and 'm' is found in the answer.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
'in' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for maelstrom that I've seen before include "Whirlpool, turmoil" , "Large whirlpool" , "Powerful circular current of water" , "fearsome current" , "danger to shipping" .)