Former Test player Dean Jones says Shane Warne is “kidding himself” if he thinks he could play in the next Ashes series.
Warne has told News Ltd he would return to battle against the old enemy England, if captain Ricky Ponting gave him the call-up.
"If Australia really needed me and there was no one else around, and Ricky thought I could do the job, you would weigh up the options," Warne told News Ltd.
"If Stuey MacGill fell over and broke his leg, and there were no other spinners around, and Ricky came out and said, 'Mate, can you please help us out for this one-off tour? We need you', that is something I would weigh up."
But Jones has told Melbourne that 38-year-old Warne is obviously past his peak and there’s no way he could make a return.
“His averages aren't quite near his Test achievements so I think there's a lot of wishful thinking here,” he said.
“It would be a nice fairytale - but it's time to get in the real world.”