Forest owner ready to power up cricketing world with Rockets swoop

Maverick Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis is eyeing a move into cricket, it has emerged.

The Greek businessman is planning to buy Hundred franchise Trent Rockets as the latest in his grand plan to build a “sporting empire” in Nottingham, according to reports by The Telegraph.

Trent Rockets represent Nottingham, Derby and Leicester and play their home games at Trent Bridge – just yards from Forest’s City Ground base.

The reports suggest that Forest will be part of talks when the England and Wales Cricket Board begins a round of Hundred sales proceedings in September. If Marinakis is successful in his bid, the Rockets will undergo a “major rebrand”; he would “insist” that the team plays it Hundred games in a red strip, while a wholesale name change to Nottingham Rockets has also been floated.

Marinakis, who bought Forest in 2017, recently unveiled the latest part of his sporting empire when he set up Nottingham Forest Netball.