The opening bowler and hard-hitting batsman, from Bicton, is proud to have been named in England’s 15-man squad for the prestigious tournament, which begins in New Zealand this weekend.

The towering 18-year-old Worcestershire prospect, a regular for Shrewsbury in the Birmingham League, is currently preparing for England’s three group games.

They will open with a clash against Namibia on Monday before facing Bangladesh next Thursday and Canada on January 20.

All three games are in Queenstown as England target progress to the knockout stages of a tournament featuring the world’s best young cricketers.

"From the moment I was told I was going to the World Cup to play for England, I haven’t really stopped thinking about it,” Pennington told the Chronicle from New Zealand.

"Christmas was that little bit better and it's a surreal feeling knowing you are going to a World Cup to represent England, one that will stay with me for a long time.

"All I’m thinking about now is getting on the park and making sure that I’m as ready as possible.

"We have a strong squad, so should get out of the group stages, and then hopefully press on to try and win the tournament.

"I think we have the right balance of players to give us a chance to win the World Cup.”

Pennington, a former pupil at Shrewsbury’s Oxon Primary School and Wrekin College, revealed securing a place in England’s under-19 squad had been one of his main targets for some time.

It was an ambition he fulfilled when he made his international debut in a Tri-Series tournament in South Africa towards the end of last year and World Cup selection swiftly followed.

He said: "At the start of last year I sat down and set some goals and one of them was to try and make my way into the under-19s squad.

"I have not really played a lot of cricket in the last couple of year due to some injuries, so it was such a great surprise to be recognised for the hard work I’ve had to put in to get myself playing again.

“It was amazing to get a call from Andy Hurry saying I had been selected for the winter squad.

"South Africa was an amazing experience and a good taste of the standard of international cricket. The games I played I found challenging, but at the same time extremely good fun.”

Pennington thanked Shrewsbury CC for all the help and support they continue to provide in ensuring he’s now rated so highly by Worcestershire and England.

"Shrewsbury as a club are a big part of why I’m where I am with my cricket right now,” insisted Pennington, who also made his debut for Shropshire last summer.

“Shrewsbury have supported me massively. I played for the second team at a reasonably young age and always got a chance with bat and ball, so my cricket just improved and improved.

"Then in the last couple of years, playing in the first team has been so much fun and improved my cricket so much.

"All the players in that dressing room are with me and have been a great help to me.”

Pennington’s immediate focus is firmly on the World Cup, but he admits he's also looking forward to the start of the domestic season as he aims to keep moving in the right direction.

"I can’t wait to start the season in England,” he added. "I hope to play as many second team games as possible for Worcestershire, but I’m not sure how many with the extremely strong bowlers on the club's staff.

"I will 100 per cent be aiming to play in all of Shrewsbury’s games and will hopefully try and play some more cricket for Shropshire, but we’ll see how things go.

"There is another England under-19s series in the summer, so I will try my hardest to play as well as possible in this World Cup if given the chance, and then try and push for selection for the summer series.”