Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt has hit back at English media and former players over their criticism of Pakistan’s Test team following its crushing loss to England at Headingley.

Speaking during an interview, Butt responded to comments from The Telegraph and former England players who questioned the quality of the Pakistan side.

The Telegraph had described Pakistan as fielding its worst team in 50 years, while former England captain Michael Vaughan called them “the weakest team to have ever toured England”.

Former England fast bowler Stuart Broad also criticised Pakistan, describing them as a “poor” side.

“The things being said, the way The Telegraph wrote that this is the worst-ever team in the last 50 years and some of their players have also made similar statements. We responded to some of those comments the day before yesterday, and now there have been more such statements,” Butt said, arguing that Pakistan never claimed to have a world-class team.

He also questioned the need for outsiders to make such strong statements about the players.

“The point is, we never said that we are world champions. We never said that we are a great team, nor did we make any big claims about ourselves. But we did say one thing… what do you people think? Our team may be whatever it is, even it is the worst ever, but it is still our team,” Butt said.

He then took aim at the makeup of England’s squad and pointed out that Pakistan’s team represents its own cricket system.

“It is not a Commonwealth team. It is not a team where the captain is from Ireland, the wicketkeeper is from South Africa, the middle-order batsman is from South Africa, one player is from Scotland, another is from Australia, and someone else is from the West Indies Under-19 team who has been picked and placed here,” he said.

“This is our team. It is not a team made up of players from here and there. If there is any doubt about that, go and check it.”

Butt also stressed that teams can go through difficult periods and poor performances do not define a side permanently.

“This is not some team made up of six different countries coming together to play. Teams go through phases. Sometimes teams don’t perform well,” he added.

The criticism and Butt’s response come after Pakistan suffered a heavy defeat in the opening Test at Headingley, losing to England by an innings and 103 runs.

The result gave England a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.