Cryptic crossword clue
England's opening pair, gutted, played again 7

The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 7 letter word ENCORED

I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
E
N
C
O
R
E
D

Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "played again" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case played again = encored.
The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.
This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.

What does ENCORED mean?

ENCORED verb
  1. To call for an extra performance or repetition of, or by.
  2. To call for an encore.
  3. To perform an encore.

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