Border reveals private seven-year health battle

Former Australian captain Allan Border has revealed that he has been privately fighting Parkinson's disease for the past seven years.

The 68-year-old was diagnosed with Parkinson's in 2016 and said it would be a "miracle" if he is able to live until he is 80.

"I'm a pretty private person and I didn't want people to feel sorry for me sort of thing," Border told News Corp.

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"Whether people care, you don't know. But I know there'll come a day when people will notice.

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

Allan Border is widely considered to be one of the greatest captains in Australia's rich cricket history

"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 one of the greatest players in Australian cricket history and scored 11,174 runs in 156 Test appearances. He was the first player to cross the 11,000-run mark in Test cricket.

He captained Australia in 93 Tests and and 178 ODIs and was at the helm of Australia's 1987 World Cup winning team.

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