West Indies all-rounder Marlon Samuels has been banned from bowling for one year by the International Cricket Council (ICC) after undergoing a test for his bowling action.
It is the second ban for the 34-year-old Jamaican, whose off-spin bowling is only used on a part-time basis by West Indies.
Samuels was reported for an illegal action following the first Test defeat against Sri Lanka in October and had testing at the ICC accredited testing center in Brisbane, Australia earlier this month.
“The assessment revealed that Samuels’ elbow exceeded 15 degrees while bowling and, thus, he employed an illegal bowling action,” the world governing body said in a statement.
“As this report constitutes the player’s second suspension, within a two-year period, he is now automatically suspended from bowling in international cricket for a 12-month period,” it states.
Samuels has already served a near four-year bowling ban from 2008 over concerns with his action, but was allowed to resume in 2011 after remedial work. He was reported again following a Test in India in 2013 and subsequently banned from bowling his quicker deliveries. He was allowed to continue with his standard off-break.
He will not be allowed to have his action re-assessed until the ban ends, taccording to the ICC..
Last month another West Indies bowler Sunil Narine was banned by the ICC from bowling in international cricket over his illegal bowling action.
An independent assessment revealed that all variations of his deliveries exceeded the 15-degree limit.
Narine’s action was reported during the third One-Day International against Sri Lanka in Pallekele.
However, he will be allowed to play domestic cricket events under the auspices of the West Indies Cricket Board.
