South Africa's next chase in the Cricket World Cup will go a long way in determining their success at the tournament. But they must first overcome the pressure of batting second and chasing a clear goal, says mental cricket coach Paddy Upton.

South Africa have exceeded expectations in the Cricket World Cup. The Proteas have qualified for the semifinals with one match to play, against Afghanistan, in the round-robin stage.

But their success has largely come from their impressive ability to bat sides out of the contest in the first innings.

England, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Australia - the latter are South Africa's opponents in the semifinal - each won the toss against the Proteas and elected to bowl first.

South Africa thrashed all four of the aforementioned teams. That's not a mistake any side that faces up to South Africa will make again heading into the business end of the tournament.

For context to how good the Proteas are at batting first compared to chasing a total, they have batted first in 11 matches this year and won 10. Comparatively, they have chased in nine matches and were victorious in only four.

That includes a shock 38-run loss to Netherlands.

'Peg in the sand'

Why is chasing so difficult for South Africa?

"There is a clear peg in the sand and your mind is looking at that," experienced mental cricket coach Paddy Upton told Daily Maverick.

"With the Proteas particularly,...