Each club fields four teams (firsts through to fourths) of adult players and usually play on Saturdays and public holidays.

The competition commenced in the 1906–07 season when it was known as "district cricket" with players allocated to their clubs based on residential qualifications.

Throughout the majority of its history, the competition was played under two-day, two-innings-per-side rules, with most results being decided on a first-innings basis.

For the 1889–90 season, a program of pennant matches was devised over eight rounds, which began the era of club competition recognisable today.

The solution was found in a district cricket scheme, under which players needed a residential qualification to play for their club.

Melbourne finally joined the competition in 1914–15, under special rules allowing it to draw players from anywhere but with a limit on how many could be drawn from any single other club's district.

First presented in 1972–73, the award for the best player of the season is named after Jack Ryder, the former Australian captain who had a long and distinguished career with Collingwood.