It might come as a surprise to learn there’s an England men’s netball squad.

Traditionally a female-dominated sport, the boys are starting to show what they can do.

And in a huge leap forward, England men are currently touring Australia and New Zealand, where their squad for the tri-series includes Leybourne man Charlie Gray.

Wing-attack Gray, 28, was selected for the national team’s first-ever tour following trials.

They play Australia in Sydney on Sunday and New Zealand in Christchurch on Tuesday.

The governing body - England Men’s and Mixed Netball Association (EMMNA) - is only three years old although the sport dates back further.

Gray grew up around netball - “I was born next to a netball court,” he jokes - but with no provision to play beyond primary school, he turned his attention to other sports, including korfball and basketball.

But, like the rise of women’s football, men’s netball is on the up, with Gray playing for the London Knights.

He’s played in training games against the England women’s team - they won Commonwealth Games gold in 2018 - and is also a training partner for Super League team London Pulse.

Gray is very much living his dream Down Under.

“It’s the first tour we’ve ever done as the EMMNA governing body, so it’s all very exciting,” he said.

“It’s nerve-racking but a big achievement.

“I’ve always wanted to get to that sort of level and I’ve found a sport I could do it in and excel at.

“I was born next to a netball court. I was there in my pram at my mum’s games and whoever wasn’t playing at the time was looking after me. I caught the bug at a really early age.

“It’s a fast-paced, quick-thinking sport that you have to keep adapting to because other players will always try something different, and it’s very athletic.

“If people knew more about it, and didn’t have this perception of it being a female game, it could really grow and be one of the main sports in the Olympics.

“Women’s netball is at the Commonwealth Games and hopefully netball will be at the 2032 Olympics in Brisbane.

“The home nation is allowed to put three sports forward and they’re pushing to have netball included.

“Whether that comes as mixed, or men’s or just women’s, I don’t know, but hopefully it will be included.”

Women’s football has taken off in a big way but you never have to look far to find unfair comparisons with the men’s game.

In netball, and as far as Gray’s concerned, it’s about learning from the girls and raising the overall profile of the sport.

He said: “The women’s game is very structured.

“Because they play from grassroots, their knowledge on how to play and move the ball, and the structure they have going down court, is second to none.

“You can’t get any better, and this is what the men are trying to implement.

“They tend to class the men’s game as more aerial and more athletic and we’re trying to adapt to a more structured way of playing, which the female side is helping us with.

“It’s just the netball brain and the experience females have that we don’t have yet because we don’t get to play after primary school, so you lose that development in secondary school.

“We’ve played against England Roses. We’ve had some tight games against them and sometimes they’ve trounced us.

“One thing we pride ourselves on is we’re not trying to beat the women’s game.

“We want to elevate the women’s game and raise of the profile of netball as a whole.

“We know how much netball means to the female side, and we’d never want to overshadow that.

“We’re four years into a 10-year plan for the development of the men’s and mixed game, and I think we’re ahead of schedule.”