Martin Crowe: Two-tier Test system, my foot | Cricinfo Magazine | ESPN Cricinfo
Martin Crowe has always been a thinking man, he lets not forget was the man the created cricket max format in NZ, that lead to the idea of T20 cricket starting in England.
I like this basis of this idea of having a 4 quarterfinals knockout test matches that leads to a semi's & finals.
I actually really like the basis of Martin Crowe's idea Mainly because it gives relevance to the Test series' that are happening right now. There is no 'wait for 4 years and see who's ahead in the rankings' type stuff. It's simple - if you win this year, you play off for the championship this year.
You could do it like this...give IPL their blessed window in April, early May - no more. Then starting from mid-May, every Test series counts towards a final championship series of 3 Tests to occur each mid March-early April. The two teams who've won the most series' during that 10 months get to play each other for the annual title. Simple. There would be arguments over scheduling eg. teams might try to stack their schedule with 'easy' series, but the basic idea of the best teams of the year playing off appeals to me.