England and Wales will stage the inaugural World Test Cricket Championship in June and July of 2017.
The International Cricket Council made the announcement on Saturday following the conclusion of its annual conference in London.
The World Test Championship will replace the Champions Trophy, recently won by India this month after they beat hosts England by five runs in the final at Birmingham's Edgbaston ground.
India will stage the second edition of the Test Championship in February/March 2021.
ICC chief executive David Richardson says the principle of one pinnacle global event for each of the three formats (Test, One-Day and Twenty20) over a four-year cycle is a good one and, as such, the ICC board has agreed to replace the Champions Trophy with the ICC World Test Championship.
However, the ICC raised doubts about Bangladesh's suitability to stage next year's World Twenty20 due to the state of some venues and a final decsion will be made after a report scheduled for August.
Among the rule changes agreed this week was a revised policy on when umpires need to change the ball in an international match.
The ICC also promised to enhance its much criticised anti-corruption and security unit after arrests made during this year's Indian Premier League.
And in a bid to maintain the primacy of Test cricket, the ICC agreed that all 10 full members play a minimum of 16 Tests in each four-year cycle.
A player wishing to revert from eligibility for a Test nation to his original associate, for example from England to Ireland, will have his re-qualification period cut from four years to two.
The rapid rise of Afghanistan, who've starred on the World Twenty20 stage, continued Saturday as they became the ICC's 37th Associate Member nation, joining the ranks of those countries immediately below Test level.
