The road that could one day lead to a place in the England team has begun for some of Sussex's top young cricketers.

The county's first Cricket Academy was officially launched on Sunday and the aim is that in a few years time one or two of the first intake of 12 youngsters will be playing for their country.

The ECB have re-structured the development of the game and the first step on the ladder for potential Darren Goughs and Graham Thorpes has just been taken.

For the next year the 12 youngsters will come under the wing of Academy Director Keith Greenfield who gave up coaching the county's second XI to take up his new post on a three-year contract. It will eventually be based at the county's new indoor school at Hove which is due to open in time for the second intake of youngsters in 2002.

Greenfield will be assisted by several coaches, including first team players Richard Montgomerie and Bas Zuiderent and their coach Peter Moores.

For some, like 13-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman Joe Gatting and Richard Young, 14, the aim is to stay with the Academy until they are 18.

The next step after that could be a place in the new national academy which has just been set up, initially in Adelaide, under the directorship of former Test wicketkeeper Rod Marsh who was poached by the ECB after performing a similar role in his native Australia.

Greenfield said: "The ECB would like half of the England team in 2007 to have come through the Academy system. We are one of eight counties who are the first to have been granted licences and it's a fantastic opportunity for the youngsters.

"Not only will England benefit, but so will Sussex because they will have become part of the club from an early age and they will be getting specialist coaching as well as lots of other advice on things like the tactical, physical and mental side as well as lifestyle skills. If they don't end up playing for England they could well play for the county instead one day."

The first intake will be expected to devote 15 hours a week to Academy work, with the accent on improving their technical skills.

"We will have sessions with them at least once a week and are fortunate that all the schools involved have been pretty flexible in letting them attend coaching. As far as the physical side goes, they already do a lot of aerobic exercise at school through games like football, rugby and hockey, but we are also introducing exercises specific to cricket."

A group which included youth coaches Chris Waller, Les Lenham and Steve Peyman came up with 25 youngsters from which the final 12 were selected.

Greenfield said: "We consulted our junior managers and the Sussex Women's Association and chosing the final 12 wasn't as difficult as we expected. They have all got special talent, they are something different. You could say it is an elite group. But we haven't forgotten those who just missed out, they will still be looked after.

"We don't want people to think it's a closed shop. There is no playing programme in the Academy but we will be out there next summer looking for the first intake to develop as well as watching other youngsters."

No one in the first intake has a much better cricketing pedigree than Gatting. Uncle Mike is a former England captain and father Steve was no mean player himself in the Sussex League for Preston Nomads as well as carving out a successful football career with Albion and Arsenal.

Gatting junior started playing at Nomads when he was eight and is also a useful schoolboy footballer who may one day have to chose between the two sports.

He said:"I was really happy to be selected but I think I deserve to be. I prefer batting but hopefully I can improve that and my wicketkeeping."

Oakenfold, 17, is one of two girls in the group. She has ambitions to follow in the footsteps of Clare Connor, one of her teachers at Brighton College and the captain of the England team.

Kate said: "I'm hoping that being part of the Academy will help me fulfill my potential, not just as a cricketer but as a person as well. It should be a great experience and an opportunity to improve my skills in both batting and bowling."

The 12 recruits aren't the only ones relishing a new challenge. It is also a great opportunity for Greenfield who, as a teenager, became the country's first YTS cricketer when he joined the Sussex staff as a 19-year-old in 1987.

He said: "It's a fantastic challenge for me to have the chance to put everything in place to make it easy for Sussex to develop young players for the county and England for the next 30-40 years."