Allan Border's sad admission about TV career as Aussie cricket legend calls for change

Allan Border has opened up on the moment he realised his TV career was over because people started to notice the effects of his Parkinson's disease. The Aussie cricket legend was diagnosed with the disease in 2016, but only went public with the news in 2023.

The 68-year-old was still working on TV with Fox Sports until early last year, but his deteriorating health became a massive talking point amongst cricket fans. Border later stepped away from the public spotlight and revealed he'd been battling Parkinson's for the last seven years.

Speaking on Thursday as part of an initiative to bring more awareness to the disease on World Parkinson’s Day (April 11), Border called for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to do more. "It is a disease that affects a lot of Australians and getting worse, and we need to do something a little bit more about it," he said.

"There's over 13,000 people that have developed Parkinson's that are of working age. If I wanted to keep working in the area that I was in, which was TV, I can't because it's quite obvious I'll get nervous and that some of the symptoms come through - there's 13,000 people in a similar vein."

Nearly one in 10 working Australians suffer from Parkisnson's, with one person diagnosed every 27 minutes - amounting to up to 19,500 new cases annually. And cases are expected to triple by 2050, highlighting the need for greater awareness and support.

“When I was told I was suffering, my first image was of (boxer) Muhammad Ali and the Olympic torch, I just thought people suffered from a tremor," Border said. “But there’s about 100,000 different ways of it presenting.”

Anthony Albanese responds to Allan Border call for action

Responding later on Thursday, Albanese described Border as a “great Australian” and flagged a potential boost to government support and a co-ordinated approach to end the neuro-degenerative disease. “Our heart goes out to him,” the Prime Minister said.

“I will have a word with the Health Minister about what more we can do. We have contributed over $100m to research into Parkinson’s. There’s also a pilot program for nurses about people suffering from Parkinson’s at the moment. There’s some $6.5m being used for that pilot program. We want to wait and see what the assessment of that is."

RELATED:

• Glenn Maxwell makes ugly history as Cameron Green caught in brutal fallout

• Adam Zampa lifts the lid on staggering $270,000 decision for family

Over one third of Australian Parkinson's cases reside in NSW, with one quarter in Victoria and one fifth in Queensland. "Our research underscores the urgent need for increased awareness, support and research into Parkinson's," Parkinson's Australia CEO Olivia Nassaris said. "With incidence and prevalence rates set to skyrocket in the coming years, it's imperative we take proactive steps to address the challenges faced by individuals living with Parkinson's and their families."

Border captain Australia and scored over 11,000 Test runs for his country at an exemplary average of 50.56. Fans started to suspect something wasn't right with his health when his wife had to step in for him and present the Allan Border Medal in early 2023. He was well enough to present the medal to Mitch Marsh earlier this year, but looked noticeably different to when he last appeared on TV.

with agencies