smashes

MATCHBOX 20 frontman Rob Thomas accidentally smashed his bandmate in the head with a metal microphone stand in a nasty gig incident.

Footage of the moment shows a pumped up Rob swinging the stand around, totally in the zone, without realising his guitarist Paul Doucette is stood dangerously close behind him.

As he swings it a final time before releasing it, it clips his pal in the back of the head, forcing him to leave the stage.

Rob, 54, then tells the Illinois crowd: “Every night I’m over here and I’m throwing this god damn thing around… oh I went, it nailed him, yeah we nailed him hard.

“My best friend in the world and I think I almost killed him and I feel really bad about this.”

Paul, 53, returned to the stage with a smile on his face and a glass of wine in his hand.

He said: “How many times have I told you not to throw that f**king thing? I knew it was only a matter of time.”

The veteran rock band have been together since the mid-90s but have only put out two albums since 2002, the latest being Where the Light Goes in 2023.

They are best known for emotional ballads like Push, 3AM and Bent — their first number one hit.

Frontman Rob is perhaps best-known for his 1999 single, Smooth, with Carlos Santana which became the second best-selling record of all time.

His debut solo album topped the Billboard chart in 2005, led by the hit single Lonely No More.

The singer, who is a dad-of-one, has been married to his wife Marisol since 1999, bucking the lothario stereotype attached to rock frontmen.

A day before turning out for Derbyshire village side, Fuchs had resigned from his role as head coach of Newport County.

While Fuchs’ first senior managerial role saw him win just nine of 31 matches in charge of the Exiles, he got off to a victorious start in cricket whites.

Bowling first, Fuchs returned figures of 2-20 from his 3.2 overs and also contributed to a run out as Grindleford dismissed Riverside Notts for 150.

“His bowling, he was throwing it but it was alright,” Mahmood laughed.

“It was his first game, so it is what it is. We gave him the benefit of the doubt and didn’t say anything to him.”

During the run chase, Fuchs batted at number six, scoring 12 runs off 18 deliveries, including a four and that six as Grindleford triumphed by one wicket.

“When he got out, he was chatting to all of us. He was a very, very nice guy,” added Mahmood.

“It was a surprise to actually see him there because it was so random. It’s a random game on a Sunday and we just see a Premier League winner there.”

Fuchs is not the only former footballer who has swapped between the two sports later on in life.

Former England goalkeeper Nigel Martyn plays for Cornwall’s over-50s side. Ex-Liverpool and Manchester City midfielder Dietmar Hamann once represented Cheshire side Alderley Edge’s second team while still contracted at City.

Current Newcastle United midfielder Sean Longstaff is also spending his summer break playing for Tynemouth in Division 1 of the North East Premier League.

During his football career, Fuchs made more than 650 appearances for club and country that included six seasons at the King Power Stadium.

As well as winning both the Premier League and the FA Cup, Fuchs won 78 caps for Austria and was captain at Euro 2016.