Every ball bowled and run scored was fastidiously recorded by the well-travelled supporter.
"This is the 59th ground I've watched a test match at. I like to see as many test grounds as I can," he said from his perch in the main stand at the University Oval.
"There are no test grounds in England as pretty as this. When the weather's like this it's just great. It's quite beautiful with all the trees around here. Although, it wasn't quite so nice on the first day," he said.
His favourite ground is Galle, in Sri Lanka.
"It's right by a beach in a beautiful setting.
"The worst grounds I've been to were probably in India. Ahmedabad and Kanpur weren't too clever."
His biggest regret is not seeing a match at Carisbrook.
"England didn't play there when I was here in 2004 and 2008."
When Mr Byrne (51) is not scoring cricket tests, he is a park ranger and groundsman in Brixton, London.
"I work quite long hours in the summer and save up my holidays and then go travelling and watching tests in the winter," he said.
"I don't mind who I watch. I just like being at a test match absorbing the full five days.
"I've always been fascinated with cricket, ever since I used to go to tests at Lord's when I was a kid."
He began scoring a decade ago after becoming disillusioned during a test series on the sub-continent.
"I was watching England and Pakistan at Lahore and, at the end of the day's play, the scoreboard was 10 runs out. I was so brassed off I went out and bought a scorebook," he recalled.
"And I've been keeping score ever since. It forces you to watch every ball.
"You can't drift off or go to the bar, although, it can be draining, if you're in a really hot country.
"Dunedin is perfect. It's a bit like back home in England, really."
Mr Byrne will travel to Hamilton on Tuesday for the second test, which starts at Seddon Park on Thursday, before heading to Sri Lanka to cover the England test series for BBC Radio.
