The World Test Championship was meant to make a difference for cricket’s oldest and most endangered format. But like global warming and the fate of rhinos, there is no shortage of naysayers ready to decry its sticking-plaster approach to a game in need of an overhaul.

It is the third time that the final of the two-year ICC competition has been staged at Lord’s, and the thorny issue of whether it is a worthy successor to the ICC Test Match Championship has returned to center stage. The competition was designed to increase the relevance and importance of Test cricket in a sport increasingly dominated by lucrative Twenty 20 tournaments. The competition requires teams to play three series – two home and one away – each of five Test matches over the course of two years.

Each team is awarded points based on the results of their matches, with 12 points for a win, 4 for a draw and 6 for a tie. A points percentage system is then used to determine a winner.

The competition has been criticised for a number of reasons including the decision to stage the final in England, which reflects an emphasis on commercial interests over protecting and nurturing Test cricket around the world. The decision to exclude Afghanistan, Ireland and Zimbabwe – all of whom have a long-standing tradition of the format – has also come under fire. The ICC has explored options such as adding points deductions and dividing the tournament into six-team divisions with teams promoted and relegated every year, but the proposals have been shelved.