Crossword Genius

Historic general caught on air? (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

clive

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'historic general' is the definition.
The definition suggests a singular noun which matches the answer.

'caught on air?' is the wordplay.
'caught' becomes 'c' (cricket abbreviation).
'on' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other) (in a down clue, letters appear on others).
'air?' becomes 'live' (I can't justify this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'c'+'live'='CLIVE'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for clive that I've seen before include "English general who captured Calcutta" , "Indian hero" , "Fellow" , "British general who fought in India" , "Robert ---, victor of Plassey" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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