In touch but sacked from the cast (3,2,4)
I believe the answer is:
out of play
'in touch' is the definition.
(in rugby, a ball in touch is out of play)
'sacked from the cast' is the wordplay.
'sacked' becomes 'out'.
'from' becomes 'of' (of can mean from or belonging to).
'the cast' becomes 'play' (I can't explain this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'out'+'of'+'play'='OUT OF PLAY'
'but' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for out of play that I've seen before include "actor no longer in the cast?" , "In touch maybe" , "Dismissed from cast" , "may be in touch" , "No longer taking part" .)