“If I make 80, that'll be a miracle” - Australian legend Allan Border reveals he has Parkinson's disease

Former Australian captain Allan Border has revealed that he has Parkinson's disease. The Aussie legend, who will turn 68 later this month, stated that he was diagnosed with the disease back.in 2016.

Parkinson's disease is a progressive disorder of the nervous system that affects movement.

Speaking to Newscorp, Border confirmed the details of the diagnosis and said:

"I walked into the neurosurgeon's and he said straight up, 'I'm sorry to tell you but you've got Parkinson's. ‘Just the way you walked in. Your arms straight down by your side, hanging not swinging.' He could just tell."

On why he did not open up earlier about the illness, the former batter said:

"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."

Sharing his frank views about what the future holds for him, Border went on to add:

"I get the feeling I'm a hell of a lot better off than most. 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," he added.

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About Allan Border

A prolific left-handed batter during his playing days, Border featured in 156 Tests from 1979 to 1994, scoring 11,174 runs at an average of 50.56, with 27 hundreds and 63 fifties. He was the first batter to score 11,000 Test runs. Border also led Australia in 93 Tests.

In ODIs, the former cricketer played 273 matches, scoring 6524 runs at an average of 30.62, with three hundreds and 39 fifties. Significantly, he was captain of the Australian team that won the men’s ODI World Cup for the first time, in 1987 in India.

Post-retirement, he has worked in the capacity of a selector and also made a name as a renowned analyst and commentator.