Caught by skilful telegram (5)
I believe the answer is:
cable
'telegram' is the definition.
(cable is a kind of telegram)
'caught by skilful' is the wordplay.
'caught' becomes 'c' (cricket abbreviation).
'by' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'skilful' becomes 'able' (I've seen this before).
'c'+'able'='CABLE'
(Other definitions for cable that I've seen before include "Telegram; thick rope" , "Conductor for transmitting electric power" , "A message transmitted" , "Rope for communication" , "Telegraph" .)