Heard cries in the country (5)
I believe the answer is:
wales
'country' is the definition.
(country of the UK)
'heard cries' is the wordplay.
'heard' shows a homophone (sound like).
'cries' becomes 'wails' (wailing is a kind of crying).
'wails' is a homophone of 'WALES'.
'in the' is the link.
(Other definitions for wales that I've seen before include "Home to Snowdonia and the Gower Peninsula" , "UK country" , "Its emblem is the leek" , "Home nation wearing red shirts for rugby" , "Former principality" .)