New Zealand romped into the Champions Trophy semi-finals with a convincing win over England at the Wanderers on Tuesday.

Brendon McCullum and Martin Guptill wasted no time at all in tucking into their paltry 147-run target, plundering an 84-run opening stand to set up the four-wicket victory for the Kiwis.

McCullum and Guptill were merciless in their pursuit, smashing James Anderson and Ryan Sidebottom to all corners of the park in their 75-ball stand.

When wicketkeeper-batsman McCullum (48) held out in the deep with one big hit too many, sidekick Guptill assumed the reins and made his way to 53 with fluent stroke play, via the aerial route and the grass. His half-century met its end when Anderson flummoxed the right-hander with a leg-cutter, which Graeme Swann hung onto in the slip cordon.

Swann was at hand again a couple of minutes, sending Ross Taylor (one) packing with a stunning one-handed catch at second slip.

The Black Caps coughed up a middle-order slump of sorts, losing four wickets across 17 runs as Stuart Broad snapped up a consolation four-wicket haul with some late movement off the seam. But England's ask of five more wickets before the arrival of 17 runs seemed an impossibility and transpired as much.

Despite Neil Broom's caught-behind demise for 17, Daniel Vettori (10 not out) and James Franklin (two not out) knocked off the minuscule requirement with toughened ease, paving the way for their team's tournament advancement and fellow Group B competitors Sri Lanka's exit. England booked their place in the semi-finals with a win over South Africa on Saturday.

Earlier England floundered in the face of some potent fast bowling from New Zealand, capitulating to 146 all out in 43.1 overs.

Stuck into bat after the Kiwis won the toss and opted to bowl first under overcast skies, England's tally could have been considerably worse were it not for Vettori's sporting decision to allow a grumpy Paul Collingwood undue reprieve.

Rattled by Shane Bond and Kyle Mills' collective deconstruction of the top-order, the English fell to 13 for three as captain Andrew Strauss (second-ball quacker), Joe Denly (five) and Owais Shah (three) displayed just how brittle they can be under trying circumstances.

While Shah feathered an edge to a delivery that kicked off the surface, castled Denly failed to cope with some scary in-swing from Bond and Shah's lofty ambitions saw him caught behind off a ball that he had hoped to waft over square-leg.

Collingwood, one of the heroes in the win that saw hosts South Africa booted out of the tournament over the weekend, was left to pick up the pieces alongside Eoin Morgan.

The duo ambled along for five overs before controversy struck.

Leaving his crease before the end of the 11th over had officially been called to a close by standing umpire Daryl Harper, Collingwood, was stranded as McCullum rattled the wickets with a hopeful toss from behind the stumps. The Black Caps lodged the appeal and rightly so. Harper and fellow on-field official Asad Rauf referred the decision to the third umpire, who responded in a fashion pleasing to the Kiwis. Regardless of the 'out' signage heralded on the scoreboard, Collingwood stood his ground in defiance.

Amidst confusion as to whether or not Harper had indeed verbally ended the over prior to McCullum's whim, gentleman Vettori nipped a potentially lengthy drama in the bud, withdrew the appeal and enjoyed a settling handshake with Collingwood. Many, including some of his team-mates, will argue the Kiwi skipper was far too generous in his choice, but in the cutthroat world of cricket such a 'higher road' approach is entirely refreshing.

Former ODI captain Collingwood, on 14 at the time of the jostle, went on to bang a couple of sixes over square-leg and midwicket en route to 40 before following Morgan (nine) back to the pavilion. Sharp catches from Taylor at first slip and midwicket respectively got rid of both of them.

Back in the starting XI and shafted down the batting order, Ravi Bopara hung around while Luke Wright (four), Broad (one) and Swann (11) all fell prey to a probing line and length from Man of the Match Grant Elliott. The South-African born all-rounder - who began his career at the Wanderers in 1996 before switching allegiances to the Land of the Long, White Cloud - bagged career-best figures of four for 31.

34-year-old Bond was left to bounce back from a horrible display against Sri Lanka on Sunday, in which he fetched nought for 82 in nine overs. He added to his two wickets earlier in the day with the scalp of Bopara (30), who fell to an unfortunate lbw dismissal that saw him struck very low on the pad on the back of a concerning lack of bounce.

Tail-enders Sidebottom (20) and Anderson (four not out) fiddled around for as long as they could muster, but when Vettori proved the undoing of the former a dismal stint with the bat for semi-final qualifiers England and a stupendous passage with the ball for semi-final hopefuls New Zealand was sealed.

Jonhenry Wilson in Johannesburg