Rishi Sunak has “bottled” the chance to throw the first pitch at a baseball game in Washington in case it went wrong, former Conservative Party chairman Sir Jake Berry has claimed.

The Prime Minister will be guest of honour as the Washington Nationals take on the Arizona Diamondbacks but bowed out of the chance to take part in the ceremonial first pitch, a ritual usually granted to VIPs such as US Presidents and celebrities.

Mr Sunak will shake hands with the players, while Stuart Taylor, a former serviceman in the British Army who now runs the Allied Forces Foundation, will throw the ball instead.

Asked if Mr Sunak, who is a cricket fan, was too nervous to throw the ball, the PM’s spokesman said: “No.”