West Indies batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan has been told to get in shape by the national selectors after failing to earn a central contract for the coming year. Sarwan, Jamaican pace bowler Jerome Taylor and Trinidadian wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin were the most notable absentees from the list of 15 players handed the retainers. “The team management, the selection committee and the West Indies Cricket Board are concerned about Mr. Sarwan's extremely indifferent attitude and sporadic approach towards fitness, particularly in recent years,” said a statement released by the board. Injuries have kept the 30-year-old Sarwan, who has a Test average of 41.73, out of Test action throughout 2010. “Ramnaresh's less than satisfactory and fluctuating fitness levels have directly contributed to multiple injuries thereby causing him to be unavailable for selection to the West Indies team,” the statement added. Chief selector Clyde Butts said that the absence of a contract did not have a direct impact on team selection. “He is a world-class batsman and our view is that had he been in better shape over the years he would have had even more runs,” Butts said. Sarwan was not immediately available for comment. The lack of a relatively modest paying contract does not carry a large financial implication for players such as Sarwan who have several endorsement deals but the decision is clearly intended to send a warning to the Guyanese batsman and others. “The message is that it is not business as usual. The board has taken a stand where we want to see the players improve in their standards including their fitness,” Butts said. Bangladesh reveals approach Bangladesh's cricket board said several senior players had been approached by bookmakers ahead of a Test series with India earlier this year. Vice Captain Shakib Al- Hasan and opening batsman Tamim Iqbal were approached ahead of the two Test series against India in January, which the home side lost 2-0, an official said. Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) spokesman Jalal Yunus said the incidents were immediately reported to the International Cricket Council's anti-corruption unit, in line with procedures. The BCB is now organzing an “orientation course” for national players to educate them about the dangers of match-fixing and how to avoid bookmakers and shady agents, Yunus said. Former Bangladesh captain Mohammad Ashraful told a local daily that he had also been approached by bookmakers during a foreign tour. Onions out of Ashes Graham Onions' slim hopes of featuring in England's defense of the Ashes in Australia later this year ended Thursday when the seam bowler was ruled out for nine months with a back injury. The 27-year-old Durham paceman, who played the last of his eight Tests against South Africa in Cape Town in January, had been out of action since returning home early from England's tour of Bangladesh in March. But Onions, who now faces back surgery, vowed to fight his way back to form and fitness. ECB chief medical officer Nick Peirce, said Onions, who played in three Tests against Australia as England regained the Ashes on home soil last year, confirmed the seamer now faced a lengthy lay
