Long hop

A long hop is a type of inadvertent delivery in the sport of cricket. It describes a short delivery which is not especially fast, which is thus easy for the batsman to hit because he has plenty of time to observe the speed and direction of the ball after the bounce and choose his shot accordingly. In contrast, a fast short delivery which bounces high (to the batsman's chest or higher) is termed a bouncer and is often bowled deliberately because it is difficult to hit safely, due to the height at which it reaches the batsman.

A fast ball which pitches short but (due to the vagaries of the wicket surface) does not bounce high is very difficult to defend against, for the batsman will usually expect the ball to bounce high in this situation; this can often lead to the batsman being out bowled or lbw when they leave a ball which appeared to be rising over the stumps but stayed low. Such deliveries are not called long hops, due to the difficulty they cause the batsman.

The term 'long hop', like the term 'Full toss', has passed into slang as a description of an argument or insult which is easily refuted or responded to.