Cricket was played at Ratcliffe in the early days of the college, since its foundation in 1847. The Ist XI pitch, pictured, is on the site of the original square; which explains the shortish straight boundary towards the pavilion!
In post-war times all the boys in the school have played cricket in the summer term, with fixtures for all ages against schools all across the Midlands.
In 1996, Ratcliffe won the inaugural Emeriti Trophy, played between all the Roman Catholic independent schools in the country. Winning the following year and one further time in 2001, they are the only school to have won the trophy three times.
The winning side in 2001 featured a 16 year old Luke Wright, who has since represented Leicestershire , Sussex and in 2007 made his England ODI debut.
Further information can be found at www.ratcliffe-college.co.uk.