Competition winner to join Sussex

Linley is a student at Oxford Brookes University

A university student from Leeds has been handed a 12-month contract with Sussex after winning a Pop Idol-style cricket competition.

Fast bowler Tim Linley, 23, beat over 500 entrants in the London County Cricket Club's Search 4 A Star scheme after impressing in a series of trials.

The competition was open to fast bowlers and spinners between the ages of 15 and 24 from all over the country.

"This opportunity is something I've dreamed about for years," said Linley.

Linley, the fifth of six brothers, is a self-confessed late developer who has had first class experience with Oxford UCCE.

He will also receive a two-month scholarship at the NBC cricket academy in Cape Town in January.

He can swing the ball away at a lively pace and has a very big heart Devon Malcolm on Linley

Previous beneficiaries of the programme have included former England captain Nasser Hussain and Sussex wicket-keeper Matt Prior, currently on tour with England for the one-day series against Pakistan.

The Search 4 A Star programme is the brainchild of former Somerset and Leicestershire wicket-keeper Neil Burns, now chief executive of the London County Cricket Club (LCCC).

The LCCC was established in 1899 by cricket legend WG Grace and has been given a new lease of life under Burns' guidance over the past two years.

Keen to unearth undiscovered cricketing talent missed by the counties because of the lack of playing opportunities, Burns organised a series of trials at the indoor centre at Lord's.

Each bowler had 12 balls to impress a panel of judges which included former England fast bowlers Chris Lewis and Devon Malcolm, as well as former Pakistan off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq.

A shortlist of 16 - drawn from the original 500 entrants - was chosen to participate in two matches for the LCCC against England under-18s and the MCC, as well as attending a series of player development workshops.

Neil Burns (left) will be closely monitoring Linley's progressing

And it was Linley's name that stood out above the rest.

"He can swing the ball away at a lively pace and has a very big heart," said Malcolm.

And Sussex coach Mark Robinson believes the tall seamer will benefit from the experience of bowling with James Kirtley and Jason Lewry.

He said: "Competition for places at Hove is intense and will, I believe, contribute to the winning environment which Tim will revel in."