Nominate father to return to fielding position (7)
I believe the answer is:
appoint
'nominate' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'father to return to fielding position' is the wordplay.
'father' becomes 'pa' (pa can mean dad or father).
'to return' shows that the letters should be reversed in order.
'to fielding position' becomes 'point' (I've seen this before).
'pa' back-to-front is 'ap'.
'ap'+'point'='APPOINT'
(Other definitions for appoint that I've seen before include "Assign to a duty" , "Name" , "Nominate" , "Assign job to (someone)" , "Ordain" .)