As an NGB do the ECB have the responsibility to all of those who play, to make the game safe to play, as a duty of care?
What if, by doing nothing, there were an incident next season where a player died and the ECB were seen to do nothing? We have a witch-hunt culture in the press and media in this country, demanding people's jobs for something far less than this. It's entirely plausable to think that a legal case could be made for negligence.
I can completely understand why they're doing it and I wouldn't be surprised if there will be little objection from the pros. Surely it's common sense?
It's not enforceable in the recreational game, in the same way you can't guarantee ambulance access to parks pitches for football and rugby games. But given the number of people on here alone that have bought stem guards, these habits will trickle down to the amateur game. In ten years time it will be a norm of the game. I genuinely don't see what the issue is...