Crossword Genius

Cricket ball hit a bloke in the face (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

chinaman

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'cricket ball' is the definition.
(type of ball bowled in cricket)

'hit a bloke in the face' is the wordplay.
'hit' becomes 'chin' (informal term meaning to punch someone's chin).
'a bloke in the face' becomes 'aman' (I can't justify this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'chin'+'aman'='CHINAMAN'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for chinaman that I've seen before include "Oriental - cricket delivery from off to leg from a left-hander to a right-hander" , "Type of cricket delivery" , "special ball" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.