Colombo (Sri Lanka) - Say what you want about Dav Whatmore, he is quite a Sri Lankan at heart and prepared to throw down the gauntlet to war horses Arjuna Ranatunga and Aravinda de Silva to get the best out of them as Test players than ruin his well-laid limited-overs strategy.

For some it may rankle that Sri Lanka, the former World Cup champions, are to play the new title-holders in a special triangular series of limited-overs international matches also involving India on the island later this month. Whatmore is far from irked by the image: Australia, he let it be known, were better, tougher and more competitive.

Barely 10 days into his second stint as Sri Lanka's coach, his views of the team's disastrous 1999 World Cup campaign in England are straightforward: the side had become bloated with over-confidence and it showed in their performances.

``They played like lightweights and it showed in the results,''

Yet it is long-term planning which counts to the former Australian Test player who admits that although the Test series against South Africa is 12 months off, building a side for that tour is one of several reasons to split the side at this stage of the rebuilding process.

If the top countries such as Australia and the West Indies are prepared to indulge in separate Test and limited-overs sides so should Sri Lanka. This is the view of the guru who almost three years ago walked out on the job which turned him into an international hero and national icon in the island of his birth.

``We have a World Cup (in South Africa) four years away and we need to work towards that goal,'' he said at the team's light training session at the Nondescripts Club yesterday. ``Before that though, we have a lot of Test tours and limited-overs series here and abroad.

``Winning back the World Cup is one thing, finding the right side to do it is another matter. This month we play two top nations (in the Aiwa Trophy) and it is going to be far from easy.

``When that's out of the way we can start of concentrate on our Test side and it is here we need the experience of veteran's Ranatunga and Da Silva,'' he said, brushing aside remarks from local media members about his rate of success.

He began his first tenure in early 1995 and within a year had built a World Cup winning side. This time it is not going to be as easy. Confidence needs rebuilding and finding a place for a former captain and vice-captain, Ranatunga and De Silva.

So, where does South Africa fit into Whatmore's planning? A test series next August-September is part of the scheme and a limited-overs series. Three Tests followed by another triangular series is likely the best deal on offer. By then Ranatunga and De Silva should have retired and the youngsters for whom Whatmore has such a high regard should start emerging.

``Next to Australia the country to beat is South Africa and we have managed it a few times in the limited-overs series. Perhaps a Test win is not too far away,'' he added hopefully.