Crossbar

No 1670

ACROSS

1 Superstar on his way out of 6 down (he hopes) (6,5)

7 Airmen placed in empty dugout, under conscription in the USA (5)

9 Have to grow up, in order to build a new pier (5)

11 Record-breaking fast bowler reaching 600 wickets milestone (8)

14 A painter is expected, initially, to get a pay increase (5)

15 England all-rounder in Real, in fact (3)

16 Could an old car take part in the rally? (3)

17 Go at an easy gallop to former league ground in Lancashire, or a cricket ground down under (10)

19 Gardening tool used by Huddersfield, Oldham and Exeter, initially (3)

20 Item for sale in a Lotus clearout (3)

21 Fish ending up in a basket, for instance (3)

23 Give a false impression in earlier times (3)

24 Ernie got involved with the Stamford Bridge players (3)

25 Dan, perhaps, was bold enough to play for a Welsh team, at the end (4)

26 Did one lead Henry off to a miners’ youth team? (8)

29 Has a former South African bowler settled in the Channel Islands? (3)

30 Dish much in demand by the Lancashire team (6)

31 Get peer to develop a favourite pupil (7)

32 Spanish runner appearing in an outside broadcast? (4)

DOWN

2 One used road into new position by appointment (10)

3 Point to weapon, at first, used to lead an attack (9)

4 Ready to play games in court (3)

5 Was an old attacking player in a radical party? (6-4)

6 Can Real old boy in short, rebuild a La Liga team? (8)

8 Use no effort at all, so go downhill fast (4-5)

9 Foreign currency needed to head off problems (6)

10 It’s wrong to play on when illtreated (7)

12 Landed property in European country, say (6)

13 At the end, a club treasurer has to be more certain (5)

18 Used a luxury car to flatten the cricket pitch ... (6)

22 ... and started a European luxury car, in short, or made a mistake (5)

27 Target for strikers, but not for servers (3)

28 Took in a slice of gateau (4)

Dear Reader,

As a result of the coronavirus pandemic we are suspending competition entries for all our prize crosswords. Puzzles will continue to appear as normal but no entries will be accepted or prizes given.

We hope to return to normal as soon as possible.

Stay safe!

Joy Yates, Editorial Director