Fleming countered criticism of his decision to bat on into the third day.

He said the best chance of winning had been to force South Africa to follow on.

"I needed everything I could get. I probably needed more. The follow on was our only real chance. We had to bowl South Africa twice. When you commit to that you have to get enough cash in the bank."

He said it might have been better to let James Franklin and Jeetan Patel continue their free-scoring unbeaten ninth wicket partnership of 58 for another half hour.

However, South African captain Graeme Smith said he was surprised New Zealand had batted on so long, "especially the way the Test match had gone with light in the evening and dew in the morning. They went past a point of having to make a game of it, they had to try and make us follow on."

South Africa responded by scoring 512, with centuries by Hashim Amla and Ashwell Prince, batting until after lunch on the final day. New Zealand were 121 for three when bad light ended the match.

Smith said South Africa would look to play more aggressively in the third and final Test starting at the Wanderers in Johannesburg on Friday.