In 2019, the International Cricket Council (ICC) introduced the concept of World Test Championship (WTC) to popularize Test cricket. It is currently in its third edition.

However, former England batter Mark Butcher feels the competition has done more harm than good to the longest format of the game.

Speaking on the Wisden Cricket Weekly podcast, Butcher expressed his concerns about the impact of the WTC on Test cricket.

"The point is that your bilateral series have to capture the imagination of the fans and the players of the two countries that are playing in it, and then the wider cricket watching public. And the only way they are that is if they are competitive. And that's how it always was," Butcher said.

"The only effort that's been made to kind of try and keep it relevant, I think, has made it worse," he added.

With the expansion of lucrative T20 leagues around the world, cricketers are finding it hard to strike the balance between franchise cricket and national duty.

Recently, South Africa announced a depleted 14-member squad for the upcoming Test tour of New Zealand as their contracted players will be busy playing in the SA20 competition.

In order to salvage Test cricket, Mark Butcher suggested the ICC to address issues such as leveling up revenues for TV rights and providing financial aid to boards to retain their best players.

"I don't know, in all of the wrong places the effort has been made. And the places where it might actually have made a difference, i.e., leveling up revenues for TV rights, allowing countries to be able to keep hold of their best players... Allowing them to be able to pay a universal standard of money for Test match appearances and whatever and then allow the richer boards to pay their players whatever they want to on top of that – I have no issue with any of that stuff.

"But this is just a surrender, if you ask me. It's been a slow-moving car crash up to now and now it's kind of like, bang – impact has been made," he concluded.