A couple of cricket sides seen at intervals (2-3-3)
I believe the answer is:
on-and-off
'cricket sides seen at intervals' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.
'a couple of' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'a' could be 'an' and 'an' is found within the answer.
'of' could be 'o' and 'o' is located in the answer.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for on-and-off that I've seen before include "Cricket sides" , "not consistent?" .)