Small gates made by village aliens (7)

I believe the answer is:

wickets

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'small gates' is the definition.
'wickets' can be an answer for 'gates' (wicket is a kind of gate). I am not sure about the 'small' bit.

'village aliens' is the wordplay.
'village' becomes 'wick' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'aliens' becomes 'ETs' (ET is short for extraterrestrial).
'wick'+'ets'='WICKETS'

'made by' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Another definition for wickets that I've seen is " Sets of stumps".)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.

Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.