South Africa head coach Gary Kirsten admitted that his team really 'choked' after bowing out to England by seven wickets in the Champions Trophy semifinal match on Wednesday.

'We need to be honest with ourselves. I think we did choke again today,' Kirsten told SkyNews.au following their embarrassing defeat at the Oval.

Kirsten, a former member of the Proteas before taking a two-year role as head coach of the team, could not believe a squad with quality batsmen like South Africa would lose badly in a one-day cricket match.

"To be blown away with the bat with the quality of batsmen we have got in our batting line-up is very disappointing. There has definitely been an inconsistency to our cricket. When we play in big tournaments like this, we do get exposed,' said Kirsten, who officially ended his tenure with Proteas.

Looking closer at South Africa's performance at the Champions Trophy, the Proteas never got the kind of start to kick start a major tournament. South Africa's 26-run loss at the hands of India only proved that they were not ready for the tough grind.

Though South Africa's batsmen are considered the most lethal unit in the world, their flat game in the opener against India really set the tone for them throughout their campaign.

Chokers or not, the Proteas have to do some soul searching for them to get back to their winning ways in big events like the Champions Trophy and the Cricket World Cup.