How much time commitment it requires and is it any good if you have no previous experience.
It depends on the school. Mine has practices 5-6 times a week starting in mid-July, and then practices every weekday; meets are on Saturday. I’ve heard of other schools having sports practices only 2 or 3 times per week, though.
And given that a typical cross country practice is between 3 and 6 miles, I’d maybe try running on your own for a while and join your sophomore year.
(FWIW, I’ve run .8 miles (on mostly hills) both on Tuesday and yesterday and my legs are absurdly sore. I’d like to blame it on the hills)