In the 1981 English cricket season a change of sponsorship ended the Gillette Cup's 18-year tenure as a household name and the knockout competition was renamed the NatWest Trophy, which lasted for twenty years.

Notts won a close struggle for the County Championship title against Sussex.

Honours

• County Championship - Nottinghamshire
• NatWest Trophy - Derbyshire
  Derbyshire County Cricket Club
  Derbyshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the England and Wales domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Derbyshire...
  
  
• Sunday League - Essex
• Benson & Hedges Cup -
• Minor Counties Championship - Durham
  Durham County Cricket Club
  Durham County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Durham. Its limited overs team is called the Durham Dynamos. Their kit colours are blue with yellow trim and the shirt sponsor was...
  
  
• Second XI Championship - Hampshire II
• Wisden - Terry Alderman
  Terry Alderman
  Terence Michael Alderman is a former Australian cricketer.He began his first-class career in 1974 with Western Australia in the Sheffield Shield and came to international prominence when he was chosen for the Australian national team to tour England in 1981...
  
  , Allan Border
  Allan Border
  Allan Robert Border AO is a former Australian cricketer. A batsman, Border was for many years the captain of the Australian team. His playing nickname was "A.B.". He played 156 Test matches in his career, a record until it was passed by fellow Australian Steve Waugh...
  
  , Richard Hadlee
  Richard Hadlee
  Sir Richard John Hadlee, MBE is a former New Zealand cricketer who played provincial cricket for Canterbury, Nottinghamshire and Tasmania. He is the son of Walter Hadlee, and the brother of Dayle and Barry Hadlee. His former wife Karen also played international cricket for New Zealand.Hadlee was...
  
  , Javed Miandad
  Javed Miandad
  Mohammad Javed Miandad Khan , popularly known as Javed Miandad , is a former Pakistani cricketer who played between 1975 and 1996. He is Pakistan's leading run scorer in Test cricket. He has served as a captain of the Pakistan national cricket team...
  
  , Rod Marsh
  Rod Marsh
  Rodney William Marsh MBE is a former Australian wicketkeeper.A colourful character, Marsh had a Test career spanning from the 1970–71 to the 1983–84 Australian season. In 96 Tests, he set a world record of 355 wicketkeeping dismissals, the same number his pace bowling Western...
  
  

Sri Lankan tour

The second tour of England by the Sri Lankan team took place in 1981. Sri Lanka had not yet achieved Test status. The team played 13 first-class matches and 11 of these were drawn. In their other two games, the Sri Lankans won one and lost one.

External sources

• CricketArchive match lists

Further reading

• Playfair Cricket Annual 1982
• Wisden Cricketers Almanack 1982