Proteas need to have strategy to avoid choking: Kirsten

NEW DELHI: South Africa's new cricket coach Gary Kirsten feels the Proteas cannot wish away their problem of choking under pressure and need to have a "strategy" to deal with it.

"You need to have some sort of a strategy around it. You can't just be naive to think it's not a problem and doesn't exist. There's been a bit of scarring there and it's been going on for a long time," Kirsten said.

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"But then you need to think cleverly and think smart about how you manage that issue. I think it is something that we'll focus on when we get to those events and work out ways in which we can strategise to cross the line," he said.

South Africa have had a problem dealing with pressure situations and have lost many crunch matches despite being in winning positions. But Kirsten said the situation can change by working out a plan.

"We all believe that we're a good enough cricket team to be at the top of the pile," he told 'ESPNcricinfo'.

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"That's where we're wanting to head. We've got to achieve some good results along the way, make sure that we're competitive in every series we play. There's no doubt there's enough skill and ability in the team to vie for a position at the top of world cricket," he added.