The Ashes: Allan Border reveals emotional Ashes swansong planned for Lord’s in 2027
Allan Border may be battling Parkinson’s disease but it won’t stop him from heading across the world for a touching swansong at the home of cricket. Find out his Ashes masterplan here.
Allan Border may be battling Parkinson’s disease but it won’t stop him from heading across the world for a touching swansong at the home of cricket.
While this summer’s Ashes series is the immediate focus of Border’s attention, his love of Ashes cricket runs so deep he is already planning his pilgrimage to the Lord’s Test in England in the next series in two years’ time.
Test great Border played five Tests at Lord’s and, inspired by the grandeur of the venue, averaged 100 to make it one of his most bountiful grounds.
While in the field at Lord’s he would look up at patrons in the corporate boxes who were kicking back and absorbing the action without a care in the world.
Now he wants to be that person, notwithstanding the challenges of Parkinson’s disease, which was diagnosed in 2016 and he did not reveal publicly until 2023.
“Part of my masterplan is to have a swansong at Lord’s in 2027,’’ Border said.
“I want to go over with a crew and get a corporate box. It would be an expensive way to do it but I just want to spend a couple of days at Lord’s having a bit of fun at the cricket.
“I have never been a corporate box hopper and you pay for it but it is a really good way to enjoy the cricket.’’
Border is confronting Parkinson’s disease like he once confronted the mighty West Indies pace attack of the 1980s – stand your ground, look it in the eye, accept there will be rugged days but don’t let it break you.
Another major item in his diary is the Symonds-Warne Invitational golf tournament at Royal Pines on the Gold Coast between the first and second Tests later this month where he will honour the memories of the late Andrew Symonds and Shane Warne, two larrikins of the game he had special affection for.
“Those two guys, Warne and Symonds, I was very close to. They were larger than life personalities. It is great to salute their memory this way. Golf is about the only thing we can do these days.’’
Golf, of all things, is a barometer of how Border is handling Parkinson’s disease, a neurological disorder that effects movement and co-ordination.
You can have all the medical feedback you like but nothing punctures a proud sportsman’s esteem quite like an horrendously duffed golf shot.
“It’s frustrating. You know what you are capable of. You will hit two shots in a row. One will go well. The other one is like you have never played before.
“You will hit about a foot behind the ball and you will think - that is impossible to do.
“I have decided my days of dreaming of being a scratch golfer are long gone. I will put in a few cards and hopefully get a decent handicap. I get about 27 (Stableford) points every time I play now.
“Probably the most challenging thing is I run out of gas. Manual labour. Hitting a golf ball. I’m not sure I could walk 18 holes any more. I just would not be able to make it. I need a cart. It’s hard to describe but there is that exhaustion factor. Twelve holes is about the perfect length for me now. The last six I have to battle through.
“It is such a negative thing. It really knocks you when you first get told. You always sense there is something wrong when you see a doctor, then you get referred to a neurologist and think ‘this won’t end well.’’
“Then you get the bad news and you go into denial. You think ‘that can’t be right’’ I don’t feel too bad.’ There are a little bit of shakes and a bit of numbness but it seems ok.
“Then you sit down and talk to the doctors and the neurologist and they say ‘whatever you do, stay active.’ We have drugs that can help you and you are every chance of hitting old age and not being bed-ridden.
“They say you are every chance of having a good quality of life well into the 70s and maybe your 80s which may come down to genetics a bit. Parkinson’s might not necessarily get me. It might be something else.’’
Border celebrated his 70th birthday with a family gathering at Noosa this year which he thoroughly enjoyed until, he jokes, he saw some of the photos of the group and thought “who’s that old bloke on the end … oh, it’s me.’’
This summer’s Ashes stirs vibrant emotions for Border who saw Ashes cricket from all angles during his illustrious playing career.
Border can still recall the pain of being part of a team who were ransacked by a rampaging Ian Botham in 1981. Then came slow torture of losing in England in 1985 which saw an Australian team ravaged by departures to a rebel tour of South Africa given a stern beating by an English team who seemed to bat forever against a weak attack.
But then revenge, of the sweetest kind, balanced the ledger.
Australia scored a spectacular 4-0 win in the 1989 Ashes and Border was at the helm for two more Ashes series wins before retiring a satisfied man with many sweet late memories dulling the pain of earlier losses.
It was during the 1993 drubbing of England in England that Border declared he was batting on to enhance the “mental disinitegration’’ of England, words which so appealed to an emerging Steve Waugh he later adopted them as his own mantra.
“I always remember in my early days as a captain, Ian Chappell just said to me “you might have some tough times against Pakistan and the West Indies but for f---- sake don’t lose to England.
“That statement sort of stuck with me.’’
Australia’s opening batsmen have been under attack from all fronts but Border has some sympathy for them.
“I am concerned by our top three but it has not been easy for our batsmen in recent seasons on these sporting decks. I know people have said they have enjoyed the lively contests but some of the games have been lasting two and a half to three days.
“I don’t quite get that. You can still have a good game last four and five days.
“These tracks are really juiced up. The top three are the ones who are very vulnerable.’’
Ashes cricket friendships took all sorts of quirky strains during Border’s time.
He was great friends with the likes of Graham Gooch after off-season stints playing with Essex but responded to a call from Ian Chappell not to be so friendly with the enemy because it was not helping his team.
So, in the ground-breaking tour of 1989, he was deliberately cold and distant from the English team and his new attitude played a role in Australia snatching the cherished urn.
Ups, downs, triumph and despair … he has seen it all and it’s why he cannot wait for the skirmishes of this year and beyond.
Originally published as The Ashes: Allan Border reveals emotional Ashes swansong planned for Lord’s in 2027
England’s bizarre request shows Ashes rift
