The 2023-2025 cycle of World Test Championship came to an end this week with the final between Australia and South Africa. It was a match that drew some of the highest crowds of any WTC final and proved an excellent showcase for Aiden Markram, who was rightly crowned Player of the Match. It was also an opportunity to remind people of the enduring importance of the Test format in a cricketing world that is dominated by Twenty20 and one-day internationals.

The ICC launched the tournament in 2019 to give Test cricket more structure and prominence, but it still suffers from an inherent imbalance between the ‘big three’ – England, India and Australia – and those nations that are below them in the rankings. The current system also seems to put a premium on winning away matches, with points awarded for victory and losses, but not for draws or washed-out games.

A simple fix would be to create a qualifying league. This should consist of eight teams, the Test nations ranked five to nine plus Afghanistan and Zimbabwe, who are full members but not participants in the WTC. A four-year league cycle should then see the top four qualify for a finals series.

The WTC is a good start and should be embraced by all those who love the longest form of the game, but it is time to take this idea further and make it an integral part of the international calendar. This is how Test cricket can thrive in a world that is increasingly dominated by T20 and one-day cricket.