Harris had a lengthy layoff because of a shoulder injury from the end of the IPL last year in May with the Kings XI Punjab before he returned for Queensland for two one-dayers last month.
He struck up some form taking 4-26 against Victoria at the MCG in the final to be man-of-the-match to guide the Bulls to a memorable victory.
Harris then played his first game in white clothing since the final Test match against the West Indies in Roseau last year when he lined up against Tasmania last week taking 3-85 in the first innings and 1-93 in the second.
His match fitness has been building as has his renowned ability to get life out of any pitch, bowl much quicker than batsmen expect and get some movement and bounce.
All that was on display in his 16 overs late on Day 2 of the Shield match against WA at the WACA Ground when he claimed 3-31 with the Warriors 5-141 at stumps in reply to Queensland's 164. He brought up his 200th first-class wicket in the process.
Despite being 33 and even though he has had plenty of injury setbacks, Harris' remarkable record and continued impressive performances mean that now that he's fit and firing again, he will come into international consideration right away.
Harris has now taken 200 first-class wickets at an average of right on 28, 44 one-day international wickets at 18.9 and 47 Test wickets at 23.6. Those are the figures of a truly world-class performer.
Hopes was especially impressed with the fact that the longer Harris bowled on Friday, the better he seemed to get and clearly his wicket of Mitch Marsh was with a ball that was far quicker and had more bounce than Marsh expected as he meekly edged it.
"The most pleasing thing about him today was his last four or five overs were probably his quickest of the day," Hopes said.
"To me that says that he is starting to get back to some kind of match fitness to start off with, and then some form.
"He's got three and he's getting his outswinger back, and his speed is slowly picking up every game we are watching him play at the moment. He is running into some good nick not far out from the Ashes."
Hopes has no doubt that he is now seeing Harris work up to peak fitness and top form, and with that he would be perfectly suited to the English conditions for the Ashes and would complement the likes of James Pattinson, Peter Siddle and Mitchell Starc perfectly.
"He is quick. I have played games with him where he touches 150 and that's what he is capable of. The most pleasing thing is that he's bowled 16 overs in quite a short time period and his last five were probably his quickest," he said.
"He bowled himself into the ground and that's what he's known for, and that's what he does. If he plays this game and then goes to the IPL and does well, it's not going to be too long before he is pitch-forked into the Australian side.
"He is just another kind of bowler to take over. You have Jimmy Pattinson who is a bit taller and Sids is a bit more of a wicket basher so you would have a really good mixture of quicks if you add him into the mix."
As for the situation of the Shield game in Perth, Hopes was disappointed to only make 164 after batting first on the second day with Thursday a complete washout due to rain.
However, with WA now 5-141 he is aiming to get them out on Saturday with a relatively small lead to then set up a grandstand finish with both teams remaining a chance to qualify for the final if they take six points.
"The day probably went as expected in fast forward for the first day and we would have liked more runs obviously, but we did what we've been doing all year and didn’t get the start we wanted," Hopes said.
"We fought our way back a little bit in the middle and then fell away at the end, which was a bit disappointing. Having them 5-140 means they still need 25 runs to get past us so if we can wiggle a couple out before they get past us it sets the game interestingly.
"Limiting them to definitely double-figures but we would like to limit them to making 200 at the most and if we can do that both teams are in it. With the results around the country, all six teams are still in it at the moment so it's a good competition."
Hopes was clearly Queensland's second best bowler on the day behind Harris and finished with 1-14 from 10.5 overs when bad light ended play, but it could have been so much better had Greg Moller not dropped Michael Hussey on nine.
He has now made 48 not out and Hopes is desperate to ensure it's not a fatal mistake.
"We could have had him out and when things like that happen you pray they don't come back and bite you, but he has put on another 40 since that. Hopefully that doesn’t cost us too much," he said.
"You have to pitch the ball up to try and get the edges if you are going to take wickets out here, but you can score off them if someone gets in as Mike is showing. He's driving very well and his pull shot is out. Let's hope that dropped catch doesn’t cost us."
Hopes is confident that the Queensland batsmen will learn from their mistakes in the first innings and put in a much better showing in the second at some point on Saturday to ensure that WA has a difficult run chase.
"We have to take our time a little more. I was sitting up there after I got out and looked at the scoreboard, and there was only 39 overs bowled," Hopes said.
"You just felt that because we lost the first day's play we were in a bit of a rush to get the game going and that's probably cost us in the end, but we will be a bit more patient and there's still technically 225 overs left to go in the game. That's a lot of cricket."