Anthony Albanese, Ian Healy and more react to Allan Border’s Parkinson’s diagnosis

Anthony Albanese has commended cricket icon Allan Border as a ‘great Australian’ after the sporting legend revealed he had Parkinson’s.

Ian Healy and Allan Border at the Sport Australia Hall of Fame celebration event, held at Allan Border Field's Century Room. Picture: Ali Rasoul

Anthony Albanese has commended Allan Border as a “great Australian” after the cricketing legend revealed he had Parkinson’s disease.

Describing himself as a private person, Border spoke for the first time at the weekend about his 2016 diagnosis, saying he “didn’t want people to feel sorry for me sort of thing”.

“At the moment I’m not scared, not about the immediate future anyway,” Border told The Weekend Australian on Saturday. “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.”

The news has seen many in the international and national sporting community wanting to voice their support for the legendary Australian cricket captain – from fans to cricketers, opponents to the Prime Minister.

“Allan Border is a great Australian,” Mr Albanese said. “He showed his courage. Anyone who recalls him taking on the might of the West Indies’ fast-pace attack, as he did almost single handed all those years ago. And his captaincy of Australia.

Allan Border of Australia celebrates his world record for the number of test runs during the 1st Test Match between New Zealand and Australia in 1993 in Christchurch, New Zealand. Picture: Getty Images

“He showed courage on the cricket field. And now, he’s shown courage in dealing with this diagnosis for a number of years in private.

“But now that it is public, all Australians will be feeling for Allan Border and wishing him the best. A great Australian deserves the support of all Australians at this time.”

Border led the nation to victory at the Cricket World Cup in 1987, beating out England by seven runs.

He now commentates for Fox Cricket, with the sporting channel confirming the “Godfather of modern Australian cricket” would continue on the broadcasting team for the summer.

Border is expected to feature in the call of Test matches against Pakistan and the West Indies.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese paid tribute to cricketer Allan Border on Saturday. Picture: David Swift/Weekend Telegraph

Australian wicketkeeper-batter Ian Healy threw his support behind the “legend”.

“He’s unchanged, he’s battling as hard as he ever did on the pitch,” Healy told 7News.

“Against the fiercest of attacks, he used his body as well as his bat but he never flinched once.

“He’s a legend, he’s the modern architect of Australia’s success and we’re here for him.”

Border’s predecessor Kim Hughes, who resigned from the captaincy in 1984, recalled the great partnership he had with his former teammate.

“If you were in the trenches, Allan wouldn’t be a foot in front of you or a foot behind, he’d be right by your side,” he told 7News.

Fast bowler Mitchell Starc also commented on the diagnosis after the Ashes second Test on Friday.

“It’s sad to hear one of the greats of Australian cricket and certainly a big character in (the) world of cricket,” he said to media. “All wishes go out to his family as well.”

Former cricketer Nasser Hussain, who captained the England team between 1999 and 2003, described Border as a “nice, calm, lovely bloke” outside of his tough persona on the field.

He said the news of his former opponent’s diagnosis was “incredibly sad”.

“As a cricketer, he was a real fighter and without being clichéd he will need that characteristic of his personality to come to the fore now,” he wrote in the Daily Mail.