Crossword Genius

Group in club meeting honoured companion (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

batch

'group' is the definition.
(a batch is a group or set)

'club meeting honoured companion' is the wordplay.
'club' becomes 'bat' (as in sporting equipment).
'meeting' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'honoured companion' becomes 'CH' (Companion of Honour).
'bat'+'ch'='BATCH'

'in' is the link.

(Other definitions for batch that I've seen before include "Arrange things in groups" , "All the bread baked at the same time" , "Production run" , "Quantity dealt with at one time" , "Group of items (as handled)" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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