A miscued pull shot cost Hayden his wicket

The home side trail by 33 runs after ending the second day's play on 70-3.

"We've seen a lot of wickets falling, which is pretty indicative of the conditions," said Hayden.

"We're looking in a pretty solid position. But it's a difficult wicket with a lot of sideways movement and we wouldn't want to be chasing 300 here."

Hayden made 94 in Australia's total of 308 - an innings which carried him above Sir Don Bradman in his country's all-time Test run scorers list.

But he added: "We would have liked to score more runs, no question.

"This morning was as hard batting as we've had to do in a Test match for a long time. Every time I felt I had the ball covered, I would nick it."

South Africa, meanwhile, ended the day disappointed, but still clinging to the belief that they can turn the game around.

"It was frustrating not to get wickets in the morning. We bowled well as a team but the ball went into gaps and we dropped catches.

"But if we can get a lead of 200 and bowl well, we have got a chance," fast bowler Andre Nel commented.

Nel was the focus of abuse from Australian fans during South Africa's recent tour down under, but said the lack of a similar noisy atmosphere at Newlands had not worked in his favour.

"Our crowds are much quieter...and sometimes they almost seem to be against us. The crowds in Australia get you fired up and I almost miss them," he said.