Crossword Genius

Criticise players getting one wicket (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

castigate

'criticise' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'players getting one wicket' is the wordplay.
'players' becomes 'cast' (I've seen this before).
'getting' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'one' becomes 'i' (Roman numeral).
'wicket' becomes 'gate'.
'cast'+'i'+'gate'='CASTIGATE'

(Other definitions for castigate that I've seen before include "Blast" , "Rebuke severely" , "Punish" , "Severely criticise" , "Severely reprimand" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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