Sheep close to croft — close to hand for Highlanders? (5)

I believe the answer is:

ewest

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'sheep close to croft close to hand for highlanders?' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this defines the answer.

'sheep close to croft close to' is the wordplay.
'sheep' becomes 'ewes' (a ewe is a female sheep).
'close to' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'close to' says to take the final letters (the close/ending of).
The final letter of 'croft' is 't'.
'ewes'+'t'='EWEST'

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I've seen this clue in The Times.

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