The team was formed in 1978, before the start of the second season of World Series Cricket, with a tour of Australia scheduled to take place at the same time as the main competition.

This would see the Cavaliers play each of the other three WSC teams at a range of smaller venues around Australia between November 1978 and February 1979.

The plan was for this new side, which came to be called the "Cavaliers XI", to take on each of the other three WSC teams in turn in a series of both one-day and two-day games.

The schedule would see whichever of the three teams was not playing either a Supertest or an International Cup game taking on Cavaliers XI.

It had the further effect of bringing World Series Cricket to a number of smaller venues around the country, rather than restricting it to playing in the major cities.