Nasser Hussain believes England's rapid victory over the West Indies in the first Test highlights the crossroads at which the sport's longest format currently stands.
The innings-and-114-run win was secured barely an hour into the third day at Lord's. The tourists had only played one three-day game in preparation, with the majority of the squad having had no other red-ball cricket since the eight-run win over Australia in Brisbane in January.
Ahead of the second Test at Trent Bridge, Nasser opened up on the concern that the ever-expanding cricket calendar means teams are not able to prepare properly for red-ball matches which in turn is damaging the game.
"Those two days summed up for me where we are with Test cricket," Hussain told the Sky Sports Cricket Podcast.
"You talk about all the batting they could have but they're off in a white-ball sunset, you've got bowlers who haven't bowled, you've got undercooked cricketers, and then you lose the toss and have the worst of conditions, and everyone goes 'Test cricket is dying', but if you prepare for a Test match like that you'll get exactly what England get when they go away.
"It frustrates me because you've got to give Test matches the preparation that they deserve, which is a very easy thing to say but a very difficult thing to do in modern times."
Meanwhile, former England skipper Michael Atherton shed light on the importance by giving an example of James Anderson
"Anderson said, 'Test cricket has literally made me the person I am'," said Atherton. "So, all the lessons he's drawn from Test cricket - the ups, the downs, the highs, the lows, the coming back for that third spell at six o'clock in the evening and having to dig deep within yourself.
"All of the things which have made him the mature person he is, Test cricket has helped him along the way.
"I wanted to ask him about it because it's at a fragile time, he's going to move onto a mentoring role and you'd hope, because there are young players coming through now who will have career choices to make.
On the other hand, Nasser stressed that the issues not just lie with West Indies but also with England, which has failed in the Caribbean and most recently India.
"The other story is 'the West Indies are in terminal decline' - England haven't won in the Caribbean for two decades and [the West Indies] hold the Richard-Botham Trophy," Hussain said.
"England travel to India or Australia and don't particularly do well, so it shouldn't just be a West Indies story. All it does is add to the fact that Test-match cricket is in a difficult place and it is sort of self-perpetuating.
"If you don't look after it, then sides turn up and put in a performance like that, and everyone goes, 'Told you, Test-match cricket is dying'," he added.
- Nasser Hussain
