The superlative performance demonstrated the full breadth of his mastery with the ball and the precision of his wrist position as he toyed with the English batsmen.
The crowd rose in appreciation and chanted "Sou-thee" in a way that hasn't been heard since a knight called Hadlee had the two syllables of his surname chanted a generation ago.
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.
He was supported by Trent Boult's one for 32 from 10 and Daniel Vettori's one for 19 from seven. Joe Root top scored for England with 46 from 70 balls.
Captain Brendon McCullum seized on England's vulnerability by hitting the fastest half-century by a New Zealander in an ODI, breaking his own record for the quickest at a World Cup in the process. He completed the feat in 18 balls. McCullum went on to 77 off 25 before Woakes bowled him with a full toss.
Fans fell into a state of delirium as he pummelled eight fours and seven sixes.
The English pace bowlers James Anderson, Broad, Finn and Woakes had no answer. The runs per over in succession went: 9, 18, 10, 20, 10, 29, 9, 4, 3, 4, 3, 0, 6.
Earlier, Harry Houdini would have struggled to get out of the vice-like grip created by New Zealand's fielding display.
The meticulous planning flowed like a symphony in front of a capacity stadium -- and a few dozen taking in the free sights from the incumbent cruise liner parked in the harbour.
The controlled aggression was palpable. England were given no room to escape the clutches of parsimonious bowling and tenacious fielding.
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 without the verbals. He had four slips for Boult bowling to Ali, there was a long leg and deep backward square leg to Root to get him thinking about the inevitable short ball; he closed off the legside to Eoin Morgan from Vettori. He made the England batsmen second-guess themselves.
The fielding reinforced what the bowlers were delivering. The skipper was backed by lieutenants like Martin Guptill and Adam Milne but even 36-year-old 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. The England batsmen often looked like they were stuck at a Queen St intersection trying to cross the road with the traffic lights on the blink as they contemplated dashing the 22 yards.
Best bowling
Best bowling figures in an ODI innings
• Chaminda Vaas (Sri Lanka) 8-19 v Zimbabwe, Colombo, 2001
• Shahid Afridi (Pakistan) 7-12 v West Indies, Providence, 2013
• Glenn McGrath (Australia) 7-15 v Namibia, Potchefstroom, 2003
• Andy Bichel (Australia) 7-20 v England, Port Elizabeth, 2003
• Muttiah Muralitharan (Sri Lanka) 7-30 v India, Sharjah, 2000
• Tim Southee (New Zealand) 7-33 v England, Wellington, 2015
Best NZ bowling in an ODI innings
• Tim Southee, 7-33 v England, Wellington, 2015
• Shane Bond, 6-19 v India, Bulawayo, 2005
• Shane Bond, 6-23 v Australia, Port Elizabeth, 2003
• Scott Styris, 6-25 v West Indies, Port of Spain, 2002Best bowling in a World Cup
• Glenn McGrath (Australia) 7-15 v Namibia, Potchefstroom, 2003
• Andy Bichel (Australia) 7-20 v England, Port Elizabeth, 2003
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