AB de Villiers thinks the format of the World Test Championship should be altered.

South Africa claimed the trophy last week, beating Australia by five wickets in the final at Lord's.

Yet Proteas great De Villiers feels the two-year cycle format of the World Test Championship, which is used to determine the finalists, is not fit for purpose.

Instead, he thinks a longer cycle would be more appropriate.

"You want to get to that final feeling like you've played against all these nations," De Villiers said on the BBC World Service's Stumped podcast.

"Maybe a four-year cycle would be nice. We've done that in the past with one-day internationals, so why not in Test cricket?

"It would make sense and it would give the organisers just so much more time to get a really fair, well-balanced system out there.

"It's a long time until our next Test match, but it won't be forgotten.

"I've absolutely no doubt the Proteas have sort of stirred the emotions of the South African cricketing fans and they will patiently wait for that next encounter.

"I saw the schedule that came out for the next cycle of the WTC and there is an improvement, but I still feel there's work that needs to be done there to just to get it as consistent as possible and as fair as possible for all Test-playing nations."

South Africa play only four Tests in the next 16 months, though De Villiers is confident their triumph will instil a winning mentality into the Proteas' squad.

He said: "We've had some very disappointing and sad ends to a lot of campaigns, especially the World Cups, but now it's time to start believing that we can do this more often.

"[This moment] won't be lost. It was too big and too special for all South Africans – it was a Test match no one will ever forget."