Those stopping football and cricket desist (7)
I believe the answer is:
refrain
'desist' is the definition.
(synonyms)
I cannot understand how the rest of the clue works.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for refrain that I've seen before include "recurring phrase" , "Stop oneself (from doing something)" , "Abstain; chorus" , "Don't do that - it's a song" , "Chorus of a song" .)