Ducking duel arranged in middle of night (7)
I believe the answer is:
eluding
'ducking' is the definition.
('elude' can be a synonym of 'duck')
'duel arranged in middle of night' is the wordplay.
'arranged' is an anagram indicator.
'middle of' indicates the central letters.
The centre of 'night' is 'g'.
'duel' with letters rearranged gives 'elud'.
'elud'+'in'+'g'='ELUDING'
(Other definitions for eluding that I've seen before include "'Avoiding, escaping (7)'" , "Evading capture" , "dodging" .)