It was an English limited overs county cricket tournament which was held between 25 June and 7 September 1996.
[1] The tournament was won by Lancashire County Cricket Club who defeated Essex County Cricket Club by 129 runs in the final at Lord's.
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.
The winners in the second round then progressed to the quarter-final stage.