Was he supposed to display the trophy? (5)
I believe the answer is:
ashes
'trophy?' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'was he supposed to display' is the wordplay.
'to display' indicates a hidden word (I've seen 'displayed' mean this (the answer is displayed within the clue)).
'ASHES' can be found hidden inside 'was he supposed'.
'the' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for ashes that I've seen before include "trees" , "Powders remaining after fire" , "Former Wimbledon champion's" , "Eng./Aus. cricket trophy" , "Eng/Aus test series" .)