Ian Callender has chronicled countless Irish cricket records from one of the more comfortable vantage points beyond the boundary: the Press Box.

Ian Callender at the international stadium in Dubai

What's less well known is that the Belfast journalist holds a few records of his own. No one has watched more Ireland games and clocked up more miles in so doing. His grand total of official matches is an incredible 587 and counting.

And outside Ireland that's meant 117 different grounds in 21 countries. The result is that few have done more to spread the gospel of Irish cricket down the past 40 years.

It all started with the Sunday News and the News Letter and his byline has subsequently enriched the sports pages of the Sunday Times, the Irish Daily Mail, Sunday Life and, most significantly, the Belfast Telegraph. He is the Ireland correspondent of the esteemed Wisden Cricket Monthly.

And let's not forget CricketEurope, in particular his ball by ball coverage of top matches. From first ball to last his computer never closed, his every word absorbed by record breaking 'hits'.

Ian Callender scoring for CricketEurope at a European tournament

But it's as cricket correspondent of the Belfast Telegraph that Ian seriously advances the cause of cricket. His is a relentless push for maximum column inches in the face of the stiff competition from soccer, gaelic and rugby.

His persuasive ways and commitment to the cause - aided and abetted by the progress of the national sides - have invariably received their just rewards. Even in these barren lockdown days many have been the imaginative features and profiles that have kept cricket in focus.

Of course, not every word has been greeted with enthusiasm given that a lacklustre team performance or a player's individual failure might make for uncomfortable reading. Strained relations can result but soon overcome by the realisation of the importance of media coverage..... if fair.

Ian Callender presents Alf Masood with the Cricket Writers Hall of Fame award

It's why key members of the squad have ensured he's had no shortage of material. Down recent years Ian's professional life has been that of a freelance without the luxury of a company organising his every assignment. But far from a problem, the challenge has been embraced by his methodical ways.

Travel and accommodation arrangements have at times been inventive but always effective with the latter invariably being found within a six hit of the ground. No one searches the websites more avidly.

Ian Callender in New Zealand at the 2015 World Cup

It's not surprising that such an ordered mind should be behind one of the most comprehensive statistical records within Irish cricket down recent decades. His fascination with facts and figures dates back almost 50 years and The Ashes of 1972. Sound down on the tele and radio's ball by ball commentary on, he scored the matches meticulously and to this day has the scoresheets safely tucked away.

He was an enthusiastic scorer at Belfast Royal Academy and subsequently an umpire for schools' cup and midweek games.

When he became a writer Ian began to build up his comprehensive archive of the players he saw in action. It started with two simultaneous debuts in 1981: his as a writer and Stephen Warke's as an Ireland international.

He has stats for every player since then, encompassing 690 matches. Players have a line for each of their matches with opposition, date, venue, runs scored, batting position, bowling analysis and even shirt number all logged.

Ian Callender has a word with Phil Simmons

Other sports have benefited from such attention to detail. For 32 years Ian was secretary of the Northern Ireland Football Writers Association and still covers games for the Belfast Telegraph, Sunday Life and Sunday World.

And it was under the aptly named 'Wise Owl' horse racing column in the News Letter back in 1991 that Ian and colleague Norman Hamilton won the UK Tipster of the Year award. A fiver on each of their tips would have netted an overall profit of £350. Alas, he tips no more.

Ian Callender with his wife Dawn

Not so with cricket as Ian awaits his 588th game which he hopes will be the first ODI against England in Southampton next month.

He's experienced the disappointment of Ireland's failures to qualify for World Cup Finals through to the exhilaration of finally being there and enthusing over unforgettable victories against frontline countries.

Hardly startling then that the most memorable of all his 587 games was Ireland's entry to Test cricket against Pakistan in Malahide two years ago. It was the highest point of what he himself calls 'my dream job.'