Horsham Cricket president Chris Hopper has had an illustrious cricket career in and outside of Horsham

When it comes to cricket in Horsham, there isn't much the 44-year-old hasn't done.

The Homers' allrounder has been a staple of the local scene for years and has won seven Cec Hopper Medals (named after his grandfather) awarded to Horsham's best A Grader.

He has racked up thousands of runs, hundreds of wickets and represented the region in countless representative matches.

He was inducted into Horsham Cricket's Hall of Fame in 2016.

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Now plying his trade in local B Grade, Hopper's cricketing resume boasts experiences few can lay claim to; however, it's his early cricketing career featuring some of the game's biggest names that deserves more recognition.

Hopper was born in 1977 into a cricket-mad Horsham family.

His grandfather Cec was a champion wicketkeeper-batsman, while his father David and uncle Barry were both highly accomplished cricketers.

Growing up, cricket was always "in his face", and he even had a cricket pitch in his backyard. Hopper was mad about all sports but didn't start taking cricket too seriously until he was 16.

"I guess that's when all the representative things came up," Hopper said.

"The pathway system was very different back then. If you wanted to have a crack down town you had to jump in the car with your mum and dad or whoever else and try out for teams down there."

At 16, as a left-arm orthodox spinner, Hopper made the Essendon Dowling Shield side where he had a "couple of really successful years" and caught the eye of Cricket Victoria selectors.

From there, he received a scholarship to the Victorian Institute of Sport, and that's when things started to become surreal for the talented country teen.

"When I was about 17 or 18 I had 15 (Melbourne Premier Cricket) clubs ring up all within a month and that was a real eye-opener," Hopper said.

"Talking to people like Dean Jones, Ian Redpath, Merv Hughes and Matthew Elliott, all these guys were ringing you up to come down to their club.

"I just sat down with dad and it was really quite quick and we really liked what Footscray were about at the time and obviously it's pretty hard to say no to Merv Hughes on the phone."

From there, Hopper went on to play 55 First Grade matches for the Bulldogs as well as multiple seasons for Gold Coast in QLD Premier Cricket.

He was picked to play for the under 19 Victoria side, where his batting was exposed at the first training session.

"My first night at training with the state team as a kid it was just the most, I'll never forget it," Hopper said.

"It was an indoor session, and I got obliterated. They were pretty bouncy indoor nets, and the coach sat me down after; I was almost in tears. I was so far out of my league.

"That was the acid test which you have to have."

During the late '90s and early 2000s playing with Footscray, Hopper's form demanded to be rewarded with higher senior honours.

In 2001, he was selected in the 27-man Victorian Bushrangers' Squad after taking 36 wickets at an impressive average of 22 for the Bulldogs.

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Hopper won his club's bowling averages for three straight seasons.

There, training with truly elite players like Shane Warne and Colin 'Funky' Miller, Hopper got a taste for what it took to make it professionally.

"I met Warnie a couple of times at a couple of training sessions; it's really hard to describe," he said.

"He's my favourite cricketer and you're just sort of in awe.

"It's hard to bowl when he's watching you; they just try and help you as best they can.

"They're the best in the world at what they do; you learn quite a lot.

"I was lucky enough to play a couple of seasons with Colin at grade level, and we have become really good friends. Even to this day, we keep in touch.

"For a young kid from the bush you sort of walk on the clouds a little."

Hopper played "the odd" second XI game for the bushrangers, but he could never crack the firsts.

In his own understated words, he was competing "against some pretty good spin bowlers there at the time".

Net sessions with Warnie and Miller weren't Hopper's only claims to fame during his early career.

Asked if he had any big bowling scalps, he didn't hesitate to throw Captain Grumpy's name forward.

"I got Border and that was caught and bowled, that's one that I've got forever," he chuckles.

"I got Elliott (Matthew) a couple of times, got Hodge (Brad) once and Ian Harvey.

"But I got hit over the fence by them all too."

Hopper also spent time playing with Sawbridgeworth in Essex using his British Passport and even had an opportunity to play for Essex right before he returned to Horsham. He declined the offer in favour of returning to the lifestyle he adored so much.

"I liked the country life and I've had good opportunities with the family business so I thought that might have been a better play and I wasn't quite good enough," he said.

Back home, Hopper won his first of seven Cec Hopper medals for Homers in 2003/04 and became the third generation Hopper to play a touring international team when he represented Vic Country against Sri Lanka on the Mornington Peninsula in 2002. He picked up one wicket in that game, but it is his batting dismissal stumped Sangakarra, bowled Jayawardene that catches the eye.

All these years later, Hopper is still involved with the sport that has given him so much; now president of the Horsham Cricket Association and still turning up for his beloved Homers.

He might not be rubbing shoulders with the King of Spin anymore, but one look at his most recent season stats - 355 runs and 32 wickets - shows he's still got it.

"I have a bit of a run around in the B grade," he said.

"We try to use it as a stepping stone; we've got lots of juniors at the local club.

"It's actually turned out to be a team of old has-beens. I still turn up is about all I'm gonna say about my cricket.

"I like to see all the kids playing senior cricket, I get as much enjoyment out of that now."