Prickly types caught opening of play (5)
I believe the answer is:
cacti
'prickly types' is the definition.
(prickly plants)
'caught opening of play' is the wordplay.
'caught' becomes 'c' (cricket abbreviation).
'opening of play' becomes 'Act I' (first act of a play).
'c'+'acti'='CACTI'
(Other definitions for cacti that I've seen before include "Spiky plants found in deserts" , "Desert features" , "tuna, for example" , "Prickly plants" , "they shoot in the desert" .)