Cricket: Marlon Samuels banned from bowling for a year

Marlon Samuels has been banned from bowling for a year. Photo / Getty Images.

The West Indies tour of Australia keeps getting worse - now off-spinner Marlon Samuels has been banned from bowling for a year.

There have long been questions about Samuels' quicker deliver, and Aussie coach Darren Lehmann has publicly labelled him a chucker.

"I've got a problem with 120 kilometres per hour off no steps," Lehmann said after an Aussie Big Bash T20 game in 2012.

Samuels, primarily a batsman, was reported by umpires Marais Erasmus and Richard Illingworth for a suspicious bowling action during a test against Sri Lanka two months ago.

The 34-year-old's action was tested in Brisbane at the start of the current tour, and he was found to straighten his arm by more than 15 degrees. It was his second suspension within a 12 month period (and his third overall) requiring the 12-month stand down. Samuels did not bowl during the crushing first test loss to Australia at Hobart.

Samuels is among a host of off spinners who have been under ICC scrutiny, including New Zealand part timer Kane Williamson.

Samuels has become a favourite target for critics of West Indian cricket. He has been banned for passing information to a bookmaker, slammed for failing to reach his potential, and was criticised for a lack of effort during the Hobart test.