Rt9

[redglenys]

7a takes any person back to origin of natural gas [5] ???o?
15a look and listen, to contend with guest's bonus [3,4] ???,v?e? sea view?
22a interim profession? [6] a?t?n? acting?
1d posh language when supporting marshland plant[9] ?????r???
9a china problem with flipping cloth [6] ???l?p

[dannyk13]

22a/Yes
1d.Fenugreek
9a.Burlap

[janbee]

sea view

[dannyk13]

7a.Xenon?

[shoota]

9a Burlap

[janbee]

xenon

[shoota]

9a:
Pal - 'me old china'
rub - therein lies the...
reversed - Burlap - coarse cloth

[redglenys]

thank you all, finished now

[Nick27]

7a It looks like Xenon - but why?

18a Even in crib (5, 7) looks like Level Pegging - but why?

[Captain2]

Crib is also a card game in which you 'peg' points on a score board

[shoota]

X - any (quantity)
eno - one back - person
n - first letter (origin) natural

[Captain2]

Any = X ie unknown
Person = ONE
Origin (start) of Natural = N

[Nick27]

Thank you Captain2 and Shoota.

I should have got Xenon, but Crib has passed me by.

[Captain2]

Fantastic game - used to be, and may well still be, played for a fair bit of money in the Vault/Bar of of many a pub. (I've seen guys lose their weeks' wages i one session)

[shoota]

If scores were even you can see that the pegs would be level on the scoreboard:
http://www.zontikgames.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/z/o/zon1325_072_h.jpg

[Captain2]

Presumably that is where the saying comes from - or something very similar