Peng was named as skipper of the 14-man squad announced by the England and Wales Cricket Board on Wednesday.

The squad includes Middlesex's Nicholas Compton, grandson of former England great Denis Compton.

The Under-19 World Cup is being staged in New Zealand from 19 January to 9 February, although the England squad will leave on 27 December for acclimatisation in Australian before travelling on to New Zealand.

The right-handed Peng will be with the ECB National Academy squad in Adelaide and will join up with the Under-19 squad in Australia.

"The Under-19s World Cup is a pressure pot and not a place for the faint-hearted," he said.

"Every game can be the last, so attitude and self-belief are key characteristics for successful teams. How players react under this pressure gives us an indication of what may happen in their future careers.

"We've got a well-balanced squad with four seamers, one recognised spinner and two all-rounders. What's more, 12 out of the 14 players are all good batsmen.

"There are five players with first-class experience, so we have depth to the squad."

England Under-19s squad: Kadeer Ali (Worcestershire), T Bresnan (Yorkshire), N Compton (Middlesex), C Gilbert (Yorkshire), K Hogg (Lancashire), N Malik (Nottinghamshire), P McMahon (Nottinghamshire), G Muchall (Durham), S Patel (Nottinghamshire), N Peng (captain, Durham), S Pope (wkt, Gloucestershire), J Sayers (Yorkshire), G Scott (Durham), B Shafayat (Nottinghamshire).