Deliveries sweethearts initially rejected (5)
I believe the answer is:
overs
'deliveries' is the definition.
(cricket term)
'sweethearts initially rejected' is the wordplay.
'sweethearts' becomes 'lovers' (sweetheart can mean a lover).
'initially rejected' means to remove the first letter.
'lovers' with its first letter taken off is 'OVERS'.
(Other definitions for overs that I've seen before include "Series of balls in cricket" , "Lots of deliveries" , "Maidens perhaps" , "Sets of six balls bowled" , "they may be limited internationally" .)