Ready to bat after opener dismissed? Seemed likely (5,2)
I believe the answer is:
added up
'seemed likely' is the definition.
(something that seems probable is said to add up)
'ready to bat after opener dismissed?' is the wordplay.
'ready to bat' becomes 'paddedup' (as in wearing leg pads in cricket).
'after opener dismissed?' means to remove the first letter (the opening of the word is removed).
'paddedup' with its initial letter taken away is 'ADDED UP'.
(Other definitions for added up that I've seen before include "Made sense of" , "Totted" , "Totalled" , "Reckoned" , "seemed reasonable" .)