"John" or "John the bookmaker" is the name given to an Indian bookmaker who in 1994–95 gave money to Australian cricketers Mark Waugh and Shane Warne, in return for pitch and weather information.
According to the players, they refused to divulge more-strategic material, such as team tactics and player selection policies. One of the most publicised of a series of betting controversies in cricket in the 1990s, the matter was initially covered up by the Australian Cricket Board (ACB), which decided that it was sufficient to privately fine the players. The ACB concluded that, since Waugh and Warne had previously accused Pakistani cricket captain Saleem Malik of attempting to bribe them to lose matches, their credibility as witnesses would be damaged if their own involvement with John was publicised. The ACB reported the matter to the International Cricket Council, and the matter ended there.
When the issue was uncovered by the media in late 1998, the two players were widely condemned by the press and public, as was the ACB for their cover-up. Waugh received a hostile reaction from Australian spectators when he walked out to bat during a Test match immediately after the news broke. On the other hand, the sports community was generally supportive of the players. The ACB appointed Rob O'Regan QC to conduct an independent inquiry into the matter. O'Regan concluded that the fines were inadequate and wrote that a suspension for a "significant time" would have been a more appropriate penalty. He strongly condemned the players' behaviour and their failure as role models for young fans. O'Regan further added that players needed to be better informed about the dangers of gambling and unauthorised bookmakers.
The controversy prompted Pakistan to ask the two Australian players to appear in front of their own judicial inquiry into corruption; Australia responded by granting the Pakistanis permission to hold hearings in Australia with full privileges. The players were questioned about their accusations against Malik, and whether their dealings with John detracted from their credibility. Both Waugh and Warne denied any suggestions they played with less determination in the matches in question, stating that they were among the leading players in those games.
Involvement with bookmaker
During the Singer World Series tournament in Sri Lanka in September 1994, which involved India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Australia, the Australian team stayed at the Oberoi Hotel in the capital Colombo. There was a casino in close proximity to the hotel, which Waugh and Warne visited. Team manager Colin Egar had advised Warne that he had been told that the venue was unsavoury, but he was vague in his comments, and at the time, casinos were not perceived as trouble spots or traps for unwary cricketers.
Waugh was approached at the Oberoi by an Indian man, who was also staying at the hotel. The man called himself "John" and gave no surname. John said he was a man who had won money betting on cricket and asked Waugh to provide pitch and weather information; he also asked the Australian to reveal inside knowledge about the team, such as tactics and player selections, in exchange for US$4,000. Waugh accepted the money and agreed to provide information about the pitch and weather, but he refused to divulge the tactics that the Australians intended to use against their opposition, or information on which players would play and what their role would be. Information on pitch conditions provides an insight into the strategies that the team might adopt and which players might be used, and teams will field different players depending on the pitch, as their skills are suited to different conditions. The arrangement with John remained in place until the end of the 1994–95 Australian summer. Waugh later said that at the time, he did not see anything wrong with his actions, reasoning that the agreement was similar to a player speculating about their form and the playing conditions in a pre-match media interview.