Former England captain Michael Vaughan fears the impact the rise of the Twenty20 game could have on his nation's Test side.
Vaughan, who stood down after England's recent series against South Africa was lost earlier this month, is also concerned about the high number of foreign players in the domestic game.
Both issues have tested the authorities this year with the England and Wales Cricket Board setting up new Twenty20 events to cope with increasing demand and hoping to curb the proliferation of overseas, or Kolpak, players.
Vaughan, speaking in September's Wisden Cricketer, said: "My gut feeling is that players will be gearing their game towards the Twenty20 format, more than the five-day format.
"The new generation of 15-20 year olds, are they going to gear themselves towards travelling the world for nine months of the year playing five-day cricket or earn plenty by playing three-hour cricket a little bit in India and at home? I'm not too sure."
England will play the first of five winner-takes-all £10million matches against Sir Allen Stanford's Super Stars side in November while some players are likely to be targeted by the lucrative Indian Premier League.
"Suppose you're a young player and you suddenly come into the England team now, and within the first year you play two Stanfords and earn a million quid and get an IPL deal. Where's it going to go to?" Vaughan asked.
"That's my fear for the longer format - that the motivation of players will be more geared towards Twenty20 cricket."
Vaughan is also worried that not enough England-qualified players are gaining the experience needed for international cricket in the domestic game.
"My fear is that, in other teams that have so many [Kolpaks], pressurised situations - bowling at the death, bowling with the new ball, captaincy, batting under pressure - are being done by too many Kolpak players, which is not going to develop England players."