Bavuma confident for 2nd Test fightback: 'As a team, we've overcome a lot'

Proteas vice-captain Temba Bavuma said they've got plenty of mental resilience to fall back on to bounce back for the second Test against New Zealand in Christchurch on Friday.

The first Test at the Hagley Oval was an abysmal outing for Dean Elgar's charges as they were brushed aside by an innings and 276 runs inside three days.

The defeat was South Africa's second-heaviest in their history, and the tourists found themselves failing to cross 200 in both innings in conditions that New Zealand handled much better.

It won't be the first time this summer that South Africa have to square a series - they did so to great effect when they beat India by six wickets in the second Test at the Wanderers at the start of the year.

It's not lost on Bavuma, who top-scored in the second innings with 41 out of a paltry 111 in response to New Zealand's 482 all out, that they need to do this away from home.

Bavuma, though, said they've been in this position before, and they're confident of bouncing back.

"It's also about reminding the guys that as a team, we've overcome a lot. The situation we're in isn't foreign to us," Bavuma said.

"We know how it is to come back when our backs are against the wall. We have that feeling and the confidence in each other in that we know that we have what it takes to do what we need to do.

"Looking at all the formats, there are a lot of positives that we can take as a team. What happened in the past has now gone and what's important is how you come back and show yourselves up."

The Test may have been SA's first in Christchurch since 1999 and one they went into on the back of 10 days spent in managed isolation and quarantine before having three days to prepare, but Bavuma said they couldn't put up any sort of