Mornington beat Court House in Gunnedah first grade semi-final

The Mornington batter has produced plenty of starts over summer, but rarely gone on to big scores. After four matches this year, he has made it into double figures three times with a high score of 33.

However, class tends to shine through in the biggest moments, as it did for Smith on Saturday.

Up against Court House in the first grade semi-final at Wolseley Oval, Smith opened after Mornington won the toss and elected to bat.

"I didn't change much at all to be honest," Smith said of his innings.

"The wicket was pretty good, I just happened to get a few away."

More than a few - Smith compiled 85 from the top of the order as Mornington scored 6-187 in the first innings.

Ever understated, Smith said simply that his knock was "good", but was more focused on the team's effort to score at more than four runs an over.

"All the boys performed quite well," he said.

Justin Carter (27) and Marcus Hayne (29*) also contributed for Mornington, which left the team feeling confident ahead of the second innings.

"We have a fair bit of confidence in our bowlers, but we knew we had to go out there and take every opportunity we could, because they've got a few guys who could hurt us," Smith said.

The opener referenced last year's semi-final, in which Mornington also played Court House, but lost when their opponents overcame an early collapse.

This time around, however, Lachie Straney gave Court House no chance to rebound.

The Mornington paceman opened the bowling and snared 6-24 from his eight overs.

"All the bowlers did well," Smith said.

"Lachie Straney took a few - well, more than a few - and set up the win for us with his first spell."

All of Court House's top six batters fell to Straney, with five bowled or LBW, while Josh Langdon (3-8) and Richard Avendano (1-25) cleaned up the tail and the innings for 111.

The 76-run victory ensured Mornington a place in this weekend's grand final against Albion, the three-time defending champions.

"I think if we can play the way we did on the weekend, I'm fairly confident we can go on and grab a win," Smith said.

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