Cricketer with church group (5)
I believe the answer is:
batch
'group' is the definition.
(a batch is a group or set)
'cricketer with church' is the wordplay.
'cricketer' becomes 'bat' (batsman).
'with' says to put letters next to each other.
'church' becomes 'ch' (common abbreviation).
'bat'+'ch'='BATCH'
(Other definitions for batch that I've seen before include "Group of items (as handled)" , "Aggregation" , "Lot made at one time" , "Items produced together" , "Type of loaf" .)