[Not a cricket expert, just a casual American watcher] I don’t think it’s an accident, precisely. A ball tossed at the batsman is harder to get a good hit on, and may result in an out lbw (leg before wicket). The intent isn’t to injure, but the act is deliberate. As has been noted, cricket batsmen have a lot more padding than a baseball batter, and their bat is both more maneuverable and wider, so it’s easier to block the ball. Also, the ball is generally traveling slower, due to the bounce.
Note that a full toss (ball that doesn’t bounce) at a batsman can result in warnings and eventual bannings.
It was even harder when catchers began cheating, which is why foul tip outs were eliminated between the seasons of 1888 and 1889.
In early baseball, foul tips were indeed recorded as foul outs. But catchers began wearing mitts in the 1880’s, and this made it easier to cheat – to snap one’s fingers, or slap the edge of one’s mitt with one’s free hand, and make a swing and miss sound like a foul tip. Connie Mack, during his catching career, was said to be a master of this tactic. In fact, he boasted of his prowess when reminiscing in later years.
When the rule was changed in 1889, foul balls weren’t counted as strikes, so a foul tip became a non-event. Then in the 1890’s the rule makers became concerned about excessive, deliberate fouling by batters, so the pendulum began to swing back. Foul bunts and foul tips became strikes, even if there were already two strikes. Then in 1901-03 other types of fouls became strikes, but only when there were fewer than two strikes. Thus the current situation.
Many fans do not realize that a foul tip is the exact equivalent of a swing and miss, so that you can steal a base on a foul tip.
Even though this thread has been thoroughly beaten into glue, I wanted to mention the one time that I know of that an umpire reversed himself due to a compelling argument of a manager. I am talking about the “shoe polish incident” during the 1969 World Series. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDTQt8JmGL0 The ball hits Cleon Jones foot, the umpire calls it a ball. Gil Hodges, the Mets’ manager comes out of the dugout with a ball with a shoe polish mark on it, the umpire awards Jones first base. Earl Weaver of the Orioles comes out to argue that and is denied. Later it came out that the ball was actually doctored, and may not have been the actual game ball, but the announcers thought it was an obvious hit-by-pitch, anyway.