Amol Rajan: Being media-trained can turn winners into losers – Commentators – Voices – The Independent

One of the world’s finest athletes achieved a historic feat on Sunday, in a first for his country in his chosen sport. Hashim Amla became the first South African to score a triple century in Test cricket. At the end of the day’s play, he was interviewed by Channel 5’s Mark Nicholas. It was one of the most tedious sequences any camera has ever captured.Asked how it felt to enter the pantheon of greats, Amla produced a series of platitudes. Except he did so in short, cliché-ridden answers, reminding me of the Fast Show sketch in which footballers, interviewed post-victory, finish every answer with: “Yeah, the boys are thrilled with the three points and we’re just looking forward to the next game.”

via Amol Rajan: Being media-trained can turn winners into losers – Commentators – Voices – The Independent.