"I sat with Kane Williamson and we stopped clapping fours because we would've been clapping the whole time. It was something special.
"Any one guy [from the top six] can take the match away from the opposition."
West Indies captain Dwayne Bravo was also impressed, saying afterwards he wanted to see Anderson in the Indian Premier League with his Chennai Super Kings franchise under coach Stephen Fleming.
He also hoped today's match would be of longer duration.
"He [Anderson] had freedom with it being a shorter [21 over] game. I don't think he would have played an innings like that otherwise.
"Hopefully we'll play 50 overs and see if our bowlers have the courage and guts to bounce back, which I believe they do. We'll start by trying to bowl the right [off] side of the wicket."
The five-match series is level at 1-1 with two games to play. However, the West Indies have not been helped by Darren Bravo returning home for "personal reasons" and Darren Sammy likely to be ruled out of the tour with a hamstring strain.
The visitors are also set to be without Chris Gayle, Kemar Roach and Kieron Pollard due to injury.
"We have a lot of cricket ahead in 2014, including the defence of our World T20 title so we don't want to rush anyone back too soon," Bravo said.
Meanwhile, Southee has recovered from minor toe surgery and looks set to be selected.
He said the toe can end up quite bloody after any bowling workout but, with a maximum 10 overs available in ODIs, he's confident he can get through an innings.
He's unlikely to cut a hole in his boot to relieve pressure on the toe, reserving that for test matches.
Saxton Oval will debut as an international venue today with a sell-out crowd of approximately 5300 expected.
Rain is forecast later in the day.
