Crossword Genius

Want to catch ball, playing ties? Perhaps use this (8,5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

lacrosse stick

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'playing ties? perhaps use this' is the definition.
I don't know anything about this answer so I can't tell whether this works.

'want to catch ball' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'ball' could be 'lacrosse' (lacrosse ball is a kind of ball) and 'lacrosse' is located in the answer.
The remaining letters 'stick' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

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I've seen this clue in The Times.
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