No 12830, Saturday 11 Jan 2020, Neyartha

ACROSS
7   Basilica tap ultimately helping to make a siege weapon (8) CATAPULT (T)
9   Class cut short to obtain hard cash (6) SPECIE {SPECIEs}
10 Assent in German by the Frenchmen to break the key to a sailing ship (10) WINDJAMMER {WIND{JA}{MM}ER}
11 Original board of the hedge fund making a choice for the indecisive (4) BOTH ( Acrostic)
12 Bird, // a string-controlled flier? (4) KITE (DD)
13 Mercury removed by the irate fishmonger ends up getting a sword-like shape (8) ENSIFORM {FIShMONgER*} 'From' instead of 'by' would have been better?
16 Ranch hand finding equipment from the east in a hooded garb (7) COWGIRL {COW{RIG<=}L}
18 A checkout for the afterlife? (7) ETERNAL (CD)
20 Abnormal loss of strength for the model attached to a bird entering the continent (8) ASTHENIA {AS{T}{HEN}IA}
21 Cries like a corvine bird after the lawsuit’s announcement (4) CAWS {~CAUSE}
23 Grave bishop replacing an Oriental book (4) TOMB {TOM(-e+B)}
24 Hidden cut needed patching after Tesla’s entry (10) UNDETECTED {CUT+NEEDED*} around {T}
25 Dismissal mode is reportedly clear (6) BOWLED {~BOLD}
26 Lath manufacturing prior to countering the quote showing the nature of a good fielder (8) ATHLETIC {LATH*}{CITE<=}

DOWN
1   Horizontal number line? (1-4) X-AXIS (CD)
2   Hail bland length used to effect a particular mode of dismissal (8,3,4) HANDLING THE BALL {HAIL+BLAND+LENGTH*}
3   Dumpster almost destroyed in a dismissal mode (7) STUMPED {DUMPSTEr*}
4   Celebrity’s son steps down for the old aristocrat (4) TSAR {(-s)T(+S)AR}
5   One might shake or break it in front of a small gate for a particular mode of dismissal (3,6,6) LEG BEFORE WICKET {LEG}{BEFORE}{WICKET}
6   Chronicler in Hawaii spoils write-up on the Scot (9) HISTORIAN {HI}{ROTS<=}{IAN}
8   Procedure for Rishi to place the uniform on top (5) USAGE {U}{SAGE}
14 Settled the petty quarrel after the power cut (3) SAT {SpAT}
15 Cap boxed by the stooge accidentally becomes ruined (4,2,3) GOES TO POT {STOOGE*} around {TOP}
17 Campaign // that may be a result of batsmen crossing over (3) RUN (DD)
19 Talks profusely about going around the gate for a flood-prevention item (7) SANDBAG {S{AND}BAG<=}
21 Dismissal mode may cause friction after resistance drops, following the loss of the opener (5) CATCH {sCrATCH}
22 Authorized by law, a number of the Spanish return for the princess (5) LEGIT {((-di)(+EL<=)GIT}
24 Separate the parts of the playground object (4) UNDO (T)

Reference List

Assent in Germany=Ja, Frenchmen=MM, Mercury=Hg, Model=T, Bishop=B, Oriental=E, Tesla=T
Son=S, Hawaii=Hi, Scot=Ian, Uniform=U, Power=P, Gate=And, Resistance=R, The Spanish=El

Colour/Font Scheme

Definition, Solution, Component letters, Embedded links, Theme word,  Anagram Indicator, C/C indicator, Reversal Indicator, Hidden word Indicator, Letter Pick indicator, Deletion Indicator, Homophone Indicator, Movement Indicator, Positional Indicator, Substitution, Indicator, Link/Connector, Extraneous