Kiwi Kane clipped for illegal bowling action

Sri Lanka off-spinner Akila Dananjaya faces a year-long ban from bowling after being reported for a suspect bowling action in the Test victory over New Zealand at Galle, while Black Caps skipper Kane Williamson has also been cited.

It is the second time in his career that Williamson, the world's No.3 ranked Test batsman, has been reported for a suspect action, and capped a Test to forget for the 29-year-old. 

Williamson's side not only gave up 268 runs in the fourth innings to slump to a six-wicket defeat, he scored just 0 and 4 in his two knocks and slid down the ICC's Test batting rankings to a distant third behind Virat Kohli and Steve Smith.

Williamson first fell foul of authorities back in 2014 as the International Cricket Council launched a crackdown on suspect actions with a swathe of sleeve-wearing off-spinners and the Kiwi captain caught in the net.

While the Black Caps may not fuss too much over Williamson's latest brush with authorities – he bowled only three overs in their last Test match – Dananjaya's report could prove to be problematic for Sri Lanka.

The ICC mandates an automatic one-year ban for bowlers that fail testing of the legality of their action twice within a two-year period.

The Sri Lankan first came to the attention of umpires in a Test against England in Galle last November and was reported. An independent biomechanics assessment at the Bupa National Cricket Centre in Brisbane found him to be breaching the 15-degree limit for elbow flexion while delivering his stock ball.

After remedial work to correct his action, he was cleared by the ICC to resume bowling in February this year following another round of biomechanics assessment.

The 25-year-old struggled to regain his form in one-day cricket on his return to international cricket and missed out on Sri Lanka's World Cup squad.

He was playing his first Test since his suspension was lifted and took 5-80 in 30 overs in New Zealand's first innings in Galle, a Test Sri Lanka won to earn them 60 points in the World Test Championship.

Williamson, whose three overs on day five in Galle went for nine runs as Sri Lanka cruised towards their victory target, was first reported for a dodgy action in a June 2014 Test against the West Indies.

He was later banned after failing a biomechanics assessment in Cardiff, and reportedly joked that he would switch to bowling left-handed instead after the ambidextrous kiwi sent down some left-armers at the end of a training session.

"It's not a serious option – everyone has a left arm and when you put a ball in it, something happens, but it's not very special, that's for sure," Williamson told cricket.com.au in 2014.

"For me, I don't bowl a lot, but it is something that brings a little bit of balance to the team and it'd be nice to get it going again."

Both Dananjaya and Williamson are allowed to bowl in the second Test between their countries in Colombo that starts Thursday, but must have their action tested before the end of the month.

Williamson and Trent Boult were today rested from NZ's T20 squad that will face Sri Lanka in three games from September 1, with Tim Southee to captain the team.