Ajmal is easily the biggest scalp in the International Cricket Council's crackdown on illegal actions.

The findings of tests conducted in Brisbane last month are a crushing blow for the Pakistan off-spinner given that his elbow extension exceeded the 15-degree limit for all his deliveries, not just his doosra, and he cannot bowl in international cricket until he has modified his action and applied to be assessed again.

That places the career of Ajmal, who has taken more international wickets (442) across the three formats since his 2009 debut than any other bowler, in jeopardy and means his involvement in next year's World Cup is in doubt.

The 36-year-old's suspension signals that the age of leniency, which arguably began when the 15-degree limit was introduced 11 years ago, is unmistakably over. While it has been argued for years that doosra bowlers like Ajmal were getting away with too much, former Pakistan coach Dav Whatmore reacted with sadness to Ajmal's suspension.

He tweeted: "Sad to hear of Ajmal's ban ... I can possibly understand the doosra but offbreaks? I hope he can correct his actions in time for CWC'15."

Ajmal's wicket-taking capacity loomed so large in the minds of the Australian hierarchy that coach Darren Lehmann set aside conservative attitudes to the doosra and hired Sri Lankan spin great Muthiah Muralidaran to help the batsmen prepare to face him in theUAE.

Australians have been bewildered by Ajmal in recent matches and all-rounder Shane Watson regards him as the best spinner in the world. Chairman of selectors Rod Marsh revealed this week that Victorian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell was picked in the Test squad because of his ability to play the tricky off-spinner, not because his performances were worthy of selection.

Muralidaran, the world's most successful bowler, played his whole career under scrutiny and was famously called for throwing, but he was never suspended. Many felt the rules were changed to accommodate him, and his doosra was legitimised when it was measured just under 15 degrees in a Perth laboratory in 2004.

Ajmal was tested and cleared in 2009, but now he is seemingly operating in a much less tolerant atmosphere. Umpires have been empowered to report suspect actions, and his was cited after a Test in Sri Lanka last month.

The ICC has taken the testing procedures in-house, and Ajmal is the fifth bowler (all of them off-spinners) to be suspended from bowling since last December. The others are New Zealand part-timer Kane Williamson, Sri Lanka's Sachithra Senanayake, the West Indies' Shane Shillingford and his teammate Marlon Samuels, the latter for his quicker ball only.

The crackdown is in line with views at the top of Australian cricket, where the doosra is not taught because of what ex-selector John Inverarity described as a matter of "integrity".

The ICC said Ajmal had been suspended with "immediate effect". "The analysis revealed that all his deliveries exceeded the 15 degrees level of tolerance permitted under the regulations," it said in a statement.

The testing was conducted by human movement specialists accredited by the ICC at the National Cricket Centre in Brisbane. The specialists were not Cricket Australia scientists.

Former Test batsman Mike Hussey said at a Bradman luncheon recently that Australian players had been frustrated in recent years by the lack of action taken against chuckers.

"Players seem to be able to beat the system a little bit too easily at the moment and I think it's something that needs to be looked at," Hussey said.

SPIN-KING SAEED

19 wickets at 25 v Australia in ODIs

19 wickets at 14 in T20s

19 wickets at 25 v Australia in ODIs

19 wickets at 14 in T20s

19 wickets at 25 v Australia in ODIs

19 wickets at 14 in T20s

19 wickets at 25 v Australia in ODIs

19 wickets at 14 in T20s