ARMS CONTROL

Downing Street Nervous About Sunak Throwing First Pitch at Nats Game: Report

The prime minister’s staffers are apparently eager to avoid a repeat of previous embarrassments.

Downing Street officials are getting the jitters about the prospect of British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak throwing the ceremonial first pitch at Nationals Park on Wednesday evening, according to a report. The Daily Mail claims No. 10 staffers became nervous when they realized the scale of the occasion of U.K.-U.S. Friendship Day taking place in 40,000-seat ballpark. “Throwing the pitch is a real honor in U.S. culture and would be a historic first for a British PM,” one unnamed insider familiar with the discussions told the paper. “Let’s see. No final decision has been taken. The PM is known to be a keen cricketer and is very much up to the task.” Sunak will be in Washington, D.C., this week for talks with President Biden about Ukraine and economic ties, and he’ll presumably be eager to avoid the visit being overshadowed by a potentially embarrassing viral moment.