1996 NatWest Trophy

The 1996 NatWest Trophy was the 16th NatWest Trophy. It was an English limited overs county cricket tournament which was held between 25 June and 7 September 1996. The tournament was won by Lancashire County Cricket Club who defeated Essex County Cricket Club by 129 runs in the final at Lord's.

Format
The 18 first-class counties, were joined by eleven Minor Counties: Berkshire, Cambridgeshire, Cheshire, Cornwall, Cumberland, Devon, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Oxfordshire, Staffordshire and Suffolk. The Ireland national cricket team, Scotland national cricket team and the Netherlands national cricket 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 7 September 1996.