Australia spinner reported for suspect bowling action

Matthew Kuhnemann took 16 wickets in Australia's Test series win in Sri Lanka

Australia spinner Matthew Kuhnemann has been reported for a suspected illegal bowling action.

The 28-year-old was Australia's leading wicket-taker in their 2-0 Test series win in Sri Lanka but was reported following the second Test in Galle.

Kuhnemann will now have his action assessed to determine its legality and, if deemed illegal, the left-armer would be suspended from bowling until his action has been modified and passed a further assessment.

"The Australian team was notified of the match officials' referral following the second Test against Sri Lanka in Galle and will support Matt through the process of clearing this matter," Cricket Australia said in a statement.

"This is the first time in eight years of professional cricket that his action been questioned.

"Cricket Australia will liaise closely with the ICC (International Cricket Council) and independent experts in line with ICC regulations."

The ICC says in its rules and regulations that an illegal bowling action is "where a player is throwing rather than bowling the ball".

This is defined by the ICC as being "where the player's elbow extends by an amount of more than 15 degrees between their arm reaching the horizontal and the ball being released".

Kuhnemann is free to continue bowling in domestic cricket for Tasmania but is not permitted to bowl at international level until his action is cleared.