Steve strikes it calm

Hardly surprising you might think. After all, there can be few, if any, sportsmen who would be willing to reopen the wounds of their greatest failure. Not only did Davis lose to Taylor but he did so in front of more than 18 million captivated viewers.

Yet his reluctance to reconstruct the events of yesteryear had nothing to do with bitterness, but moreover the difficulties of trying to reposition balls ... and potting them.

"We couldn't get them in the pockets 20 years ago, so what chance have we got now," said Davis, laughing.

The smile was still on his face when Taylor, sporting those infamous upside down glasses, strolled into the London snooker hall. Davis greeted him with a warm handshake, his only concern being the Irishman's brightly coloured tie.

Davis will join his former foe in the commentary box when his playing interest in this year's World Championship comes to an end and he knows what to expect when that moment arrives. There is, according to Davis, a "running gag" at the Crucible that Taylor does everything in his power to turn the conversation to 1985. A 20th anniversary will provide more ammunition.

Time, though, has been a good healer for Davis. The days where he would find himself sitting in a freezing cold bath, staring at the wall in disbelief have gone. Though, as he sat alongside Taylor this week, discussing their marathon encounter, the pain began to resurface.

"It was a horrible feeling and I don't look back on that match with any good memories," said Davis. "I have had finals where I enjoyed the thrill of the match, but this wasn't enjoyable because from 8-0 in front you have only got it to lose. It was like Dennis got a grip on my leg and he wasn't letting go, as if I had a bulldog around my leg." At the time neither Taylor nor Davis appreciated what a momentous occasion they were caught up in, though when the Irishman returned to his home in Coalisland, County Tyrone, the magnitude of his achievement began to sink in.

"I've got a tape which is incredible - it's a pure fluke to have it," said Taylor, his face gleaming. "In the little town that I come from a fellow had started filming weddings, so after watching the last frame he recorded what happened in the town for the next four hours after that. People were in the street with children in their arms at three in the morning. You just didn't realise how it was going to effect people."

Taylor, who now spends much of his time working the after-dinner circuit, admits that his profile changed. He added: "My life didn't change in the respect that I still lived in the same house, but to have beaten, at the time, the greatest player to have held a cue, and to have beat him on the final black after being so far behind, changed people's attitudes."

Taylor clearly can't get enough of revelling in the memory of his finest moment, adding: "I have been copying some of my tapes to disk."

Davis, who joked that he was once a "miserable serial winner", interrupted: "I've been burning mine."

Both men roar with laughter, before Davis briefly breaks into serious mode. "By winning that final Dennis got the respect that he deserved as a player. There's a lot of players who have been good enough in the game who haven't got the respect because they haven't won a big one, but Dennis got the respect after that."

Win or lose against Greene, respect is something Davis already has in the bag.