Stopped a run and had a breather (8)
I believe the answer is:
arrested
'stopped' is the definition.
(arrest can mean to stop or obstruct)
'a run and had a breather' is the wordplay.
'run' becomes 'r' (cricket abbreviation).
'and' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'had a breather' becomes 'rested' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'a'+'r'+'rested'='ARRESTED'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for arrested that I've seen before include "Taken into custody or stopped" , "on the way to . . . [PRISON] ?" , "Detained by legal authority" , "Checked" , "Taken into custody, being serrated" .)