The pull and the hook
The two cross-batted strokes that punish short bowling — how the pull and the hook differ, the height of the ball that separates them, and the risk each one carries.
Overview
A short ball can be left, defended, ducked, pulled or hooked. The pull and the hook are the attacking answers, and both are played square or behind square on the leg side with a horizontal bat.
The difference between them is height. A pull is played to a ball bouncing around waist height and is hit in front of or square of the wicket. A hook is played to a ball bouncing higher, around chest or head height, and is hit behind square.
The pull
The back foot goes back and across to get inside the line of the ball, the front shoulder pulls round, and the bat swings horizontally through the ball. The head stays level and the ball is struck out in front of the body rather than beside it.
Rolling the wrists over the ball at contact keeps it down. A pull hit with the face still open goes in the air, which is why the stroke has a reputation for finding deep square leg.
The hook
The hook is played to a higher ball and therefore later, with the batter sometimes rising onto the toes or falling away to create room. The ball is struck behind square on the leg side.
It is the higher-risk stroke of the two: the ball is closer to the head, the contact point is less controllable, and the top edge travels a long way. Many batters who pull freely decline to hook at all, which is a legitimate technical choice rather than a gap in their game.
Why both strokes are fielded for
A fielding side that bowls short at a batter who pulls will usually post a deep square leg or fine leg for the top edge, and sometimes both. The stroke is not being prevented; the mishit is being caught.
That is the trade a batter is accepting. Taking on the short ball scores quickly against a ring field, but it is the one situation where the fielding captain knows exactly where the error will go.
How to do it
- 1Pick up the length early — this stroke is only available to a genuinely short ball.
- 2Move the back foot back and across to get inside the line of the ball.
- 3Keep the head level and the eyes on the ball as it rises.
- 4Swing the bat horizontally, striking the ball in front of the body for a pull.
- 5Roll the wrists over the ball at contact to keep it along the ground.
- 6For a higher ball, play later and direct it behind square as a hook.
Key points
- Ball height, not direction, separates the pull from the hook.
- Getting inside the line of the ball is what creates room to swing.
- Rolling the wrists over the ball keeps a pull along the ground.
- The hook is played later and carries more risk than the pull.
- Fielding sides set for the top edge rather than trying to stop the stroke.
Where it’s used
Sports that use the pull and the hook:
Related techniques
Cricket batting grip and stance
The starting position every cricket stroke is built from — how the hands sit on the handle, how the feet and head are set, and what the setup decides before the ball is even bowled.
Forward and back defence
The two strokes a batter survives with — the forward defensive and the back defensive — when each is the right choice, and why a defensive stroke is a decision about length rather than intent.
The cricket drive
Cricket's foundational attacking stroke, played straight down the ground or through the off side — the cover, straight and on drive, and the length that makes each one available.
How it connects
The meaning-bearing relationships that place The pull and the hook in the wider knowledge graph — each one with the reason it exists.
Alternative to
Comparable enough that people choose between them.
Frequently learned together
Taught side by side in the same stage of a learning path.
- Cricket batting grip and stanceBoth are taught in the “Build your technique” stage of the Cricket learning path.
- Forward and back defenceBoth are taught in the “Build your technique” stage of the Cricket learning path.
- The cricket driveBoth are taught in the “Build your technique” stage of the Cricket learning path.
- The sweepBoth are taught in the “Build your technique” stage of the Cricket learning path.
- Swing bowlingBoth are taught in the “Build your technique” stage of the Cricket learning path.
Explore across the knowledge base
Follow the threads that connect The pull and the hook to the rest of SocialSportHub.
Tactics
- Setting a cricket fieldHow a captain turns nine fielders into a plan — attacking and defensive settings, the trade between catchers and boundary riders, and the fielding restrictions competitions add.
- Playing spin bowlingWhat a batter actually does against a spinner — using the crease and the feet to change the length, picking the ball from the hand, and the options when the pitch is turning sharply.
- Point constructionHow tennis points are built rather than won — the neutral, attacking and defensive positions, what each one permits, and why most errors come from playing the wrong shot for the position.
- Serve +1 and return +1The two-shot patterns that decide short points — how a serve's direction determines where the reply comes from, and how a returner uses the same idea against the server.
- Risk–reward shot selectionWeighing the gain from an aggressive shot against the cost of the miss before choosing which shot to play.
Learning paths
Movement comparisons
- Pull vs PushPull vs Push: how these two movements differ, what they share, and how to tell them apart — from mechanics to the sports that use them.
- Lunge vs SquatLunge vs Squat: how these two movements differ, what they share, and how to tell them apart — from mechanics to the sports that use them.
- Acceleration vs Change of DirectionAcceleration vs Change of Direction: how these two movements differ, what they share, and how to tell them apart — from mechanics to the sports that use them.
- Hinge vs SquatHinge vs Squat: how these two movements differ, what they share, and how to tell them apart — from mechanics to the sports that use them.
- Change of Direction vs CutChange of Direction vs Cut: how these two movements differ, what they share, and how to tell them apart — from mechanics to the sports that use them.
Rules
- Test, ODI and T20 cricket comparedThe three international formats of cricket side by side — innings structure, over limits and match length — and why almost everything that separates them is a competition rule rather than a Law.
- Cricket creasesThe white lines marked at each end of a cricket pitch — bowling, popping and return creases — what each one is for, and the exact measurements that decide no-balls, run-outs and stumpings.
- How a batter is out in cricketThe lawful ways to dismiss a batter — bowled, caught, LBW, run out, stumped and the rarer modes — what separates them, and which ones a bowler is credited with.
Skills
- FootworkThe skill of moving efficiently around the playing area to be in position for each shot or action.
- ChippingThe short lofted shot played from near the green to get the ball rolling toward the hole.
- ReboundingThe basketball skill of gaining the ball after a missed shot — positioning and timing decide it far more often than pure jumping height.
Scoring systems
- Extras: byes, leg byes, wides and no-ballsThe runs a fielding side gives away rather than the batting side earning — what separates a bye from a leg bye, why a wide and a no-ball each cost a penalty run, and how each is recorded.
- Basketball scoringBasketball is scored by shooting the ball through the hoop, with baskets worth one, two or three points depending on where the shot is taken.
Go deeper with The pull and the hook
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How this page is maintained
- Content type
- Technique
- Provenance
- Tier A — evergreen educational
- Verified external sources
- 0
- Content updated
- 2026-09-01
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