Maiden's objective : to wound (4)
I believe the answer is:
maim
'wound' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'maiden's objective' is the wordplay.
'maiden' becomes 'm' (cricket abbreviation).
'objective' becomes 'aim' ('aim' can be a synonym of 'objective'**).
'm'+'aim'='MAIM'
'to' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for maim that I've seen before include "Hurt badly" , "'Disable, mutilate (4)'" , "Wound and cripple" , "Injure seriously, leaving permanent damage" , "Disable, lame" .)