Pre-match, Knight said that England’s most recent ODI against Pakistan at Chelmsford was the “blueprint” for how they wanted to play the format, and her side certainly received the memo.

While the focus is on T20 cricket as the World Cup in Bangladesh approaches in October, this was a complete performance that really cemented England and Knight’s desire to play with more aggression.

New Zealand’s tendency to struggle with the bat unless one of Sophie Devine, Suzie Bates or Amelia Kerr perform is a worrying one for the side’s progression and it was brutally exploited by England in Durham.

Halliday was a rare bright spark with eight boundaries in her knock but the rest of the line-up had no answers to Dean’s relentless accuracy or Sophie Ecclestone’s canny variations – the left-arm spinner took the key wickets of both Devine and Kerr.

England’s spin attack is the key ingredient in their recipe for success and has been for some time, but the top order has been inconsistent and so the sublime opening partnership between Beaumont and Bouchier, whose previous highest ODI stand was 45, will have provided plenty of confidence.

Both scored freely all around the ground, looked at ease against both pace and spin with Boucher departing for 67 from 50 balls to a smart catch from Bates at cover while Beaumont overturned an lbw on 66 for her only alarm of the innings.

Equally pleasing will be the fact that England put in such an impressive performance without significant contributions from talisman Nat Sciver-Brunt, for they have often been over-reliant on her all-round class.