Australian cricket legend Allan Border reveals heartbreaking diagnosis – and explains why he’s kept it a secret for seven years
- Allan Border has revealed he has Parkinson’s disease
- The 68-year-old was diagnosed in 2016
- He has decided to share his story
Allan Border has revealed that he has Parkinson’s disease, with the cricket legend going public for the first time since his diagnosis seven years ago.
Border, 68, was delivered the bombshell news by a neurosurgeon in 2016, and decided to tell only his wife, Jane, their four kids and close family.
The only other person he told was former teammate Dean Jones, who died of a heart attack in India in 2020.
‘Jonesy couldn’t help himself,’ Border told The Australian. ‘And he told Boonie (Test opener David Boon). Then I’m having a feed at Boonie’s place and he says, ‘C’mon AB, what the f*** is going on?’
‘I’m a pretty private person and I didn’t want people to feel sorry for me sort of thing. Whether people care you don’t know. But I know there’ll come a day when people will notice.’
Despite the devastating diagnosis, Border has a positive outlook on life.
‘I get the feeling I’m a hell of a lot better off than most,’ he said.
‘At the moment I’m not scared, not about the immediate future anyway. I’m 68. If I make 80 that’ll be a miracle. I’ve got a doctor friend and I said if I make 80 that’ll be a miracle, and he said, ‘That will be a miracle.’
‘No way am I going to get another 100, that’s for sure. I’ll just slip slowly into the west.’
Border is regarded as one of the greatest cricketers in the history of the sport.
He has left a lasting legacy on cricket and the award for Australia’s best male cricketer of the year is named after him – the Allan Border Medal. The India-Australia test series has also been named the Border Gavaskar Trophy.
He led his country to victory in the 1987 Cricket World Cup – the maiden world title for Australia – and played 156 Test matches for Australia, which was a record total before it was passed by fellow countryman Steve Waugh.
A left-handed batter, Border scored 11,174 runs at Test level, with an average of over 50. He scored 27 Test centuries, with a top score of 205 against New Zealand at Adelaide oval in 1987.
He has also been a prominent figure on TV, particularly as a commentator on Fox Cricket, while he was also the judge on Fox8 reality TV series Cricket Superstar, which ran for one season in 2012.
He has previously served as a selector for the national team.
More to follow.
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