Leader of batsmen with runs smashed (9)
I believe the answer is:
bladdered
'smashed' is the definition.
Both the answer and definition are past participle verbs.
Perhaps there's a link between them I don't understand?
'leader of batsmen with runs' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'leader' could be 'red' (red is a kind of leader) and 'red' is located in the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for bladdered that I've seen before include "Well away" , "Drunk (slang)" .)