| Administrator: | Test and County Cricket Board |
| Cricket Format: | Limited overs cricket(60 overs per innings) |
| Tournament Format: | Knockout |
| Champions: | Derbyshire |
| Count: | 1 |
| Participants: | 23 |
| Matches: | 22 |
| Most Runs: | 255 Geoff Cook (Northamptonshire) |
| Most Wickets: | 11 Colin Tunnicliffe (Derbyshire) |
| Previous Year: | 1980 |
| Previous Tournament: | 1980 Gillette Cup |
| Next Year: | 1982 |
| Next Tournament: | 1982 NatWest Trophy |
The 1981 NatWest Trophy was an English limited overs county cricket tournament which was held between 11 July and 5 September 1981.[1] Itwas the first NatWest Trophy since being renamed from the Gillette Cup. The tournament was won by Derbyshire who defeated Northamptonshire by means of losing fewer wickets following a tie in the final at Lord's.
The seventeen first-class counties were joined by five Minor Counties: Cheshire, Durham, Hertfordshire, Oxfordshire and Suffolk. The Ireland team also participated. Teams who won in the first round progressed to the second round. The winners in the second round then progressed to the quarter-final stage. Winners from the quarter-finals then progressed to the semi-finals from which the winners then went on to the final at Lord's which was held on 5 September 1981.[2]
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