Southee underlined his status as leader of the attack. Ian Bell played inside the line, Moeen Ali and James Taylor were yorked, Jos Buttler was enticed to edge behind, Chris Woakes played around another outswinger and Stuart Broad and Steven Finn were caught. He was essentially unplayable as he turned at the top of his mark and brought that rhythmic run-up into combat.
It generated batting carnage. Harry Houdini would have struggled to get out of the vice-like grip of New Zealand's bowling and fielding display.
The meticulous planning flowed like a symphony in front of a capacity stadium and a few dozen taking in the sights for free from the incumbent cruise liner parked in the harbour.
The controlled aggression was palpable as England were given no room to escape from the clutches of parsimonious bowling and tenacious fielding.New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum co-ordinated the dismantlement through shrewd captaincy and omnipresent fielding.
If any runs got past him, they must have gone incognito. He backed his bowlers wholeheartedly by stacking the field with catchers and engaging in mental disintegration sans verbals. He had four slips for Trent Boult bowling to Moeen Ali, there was a long leg and deep backward square leg to Joe Root to get him thinking about the inevitable short ball; he closed off the legside to Eoin Morgan from Daniel Vettori.
Then there was the fielding to reinforce what the bowlers were putting down. The skipper was backed by lieutenants like Martin Guptill and Adam Milne but even 36-year-old Daniel Vettori chased balls in the outfield like Jack Lovelock breasting the tape in Berlin.
New Zealand saved at least 20 runs in the field shutting down what looked probably boundaries. England looked like they were stuck at a Queen St intersection trying to cross the road with the traffic lights on the blink.
In one instance of great fielding, Adam Milne flew through the air, arms outstretched, hands open and the ball stuck.The lanky Manawatu lad didn't appear to have it under control but his catch to dismiss English captain Eoin Morgan this afternoon was a blinder.
A bumper Westpac Stadium crowd rose when he made the grab and they watched on with awe when it was replayed on the big screen. The days of a pace bowler being a liability in the field are long gone and there are few weak links in this New Zealand unit.
Corey Anderson saves runs in the gully and leaps about like a jack in the box, while Martin Guptill might have pogo sticks attached to his feet at point. Former New Zealand skipper Martin Crowe predicted before the World Cup that fielding could be a defining factor at the tournament and the Black Caps are maybe as good as it gets. Vettori returned the favour to Milne when the veteran spinner held a high catch as Milne picked up the last wicket of the English innings as they were rolled for a paltry 123.
