England, with former Test cricketer Graham Swann describing him as "beyond the best match-winning player they've got at the minute." In a tour match ahead of the Ashes against Essex, Starc bowled a spell in which he took six wickets, including the last four wickets of Essex's innings inside just 20 deliveries. In the first match of the Ashes, Starc ran into trouble bowling to left-handed batsmen. His release point close to the stumps allowed left-handers Alastair Cook and Gary Ballance to see which way the ball was going to swing, reducing Starc's impact with the new ball. He was still able to take five wickets in England's first innings, and was Australia's most successful bowler during the match, but he took his wickets at the cost of many runs. Starc also experienced an ankle injury on the first day of the match, so he required painkillers to bowl for the rest of the match. The ankle injury put Starc in doubt to play the second match, but he pushed through the pain and helped Australia to a win with two wickets. In the third Test match Starc's batting became more important, because Australia trailed by 145 runs after the first innings, then fell to 7/153 when Starc came in to bat in the second innings. He and wicket-keeper Peter Nevill put on a partnership of 64 runs to keep Australia in the game, and Starc scored 58 before he got out, but this wasn't enough to prevent England from winning the Test match within 3 days. In the fourth Test, Starc took career-best bowling figures of 6/111 in England's first innings, but this turned out to be England's only innings because they won the match by an innings and 78 runs to regain the Ashes. Across the Ashes, Starc had had numerous bowling spells that England's batsmen were incapable of responding to, but he was never able to bowl to his best in crucial moments. He managed to take 18 wickets, but conceded nearly 4 runs per over through the series. Australia's time in England finished with an ODI series. Starc played, but his ankle injury from earlier in the tour became aggravated again. MRI scans showed that Starc once again had bone spurs in his ankles. He required cortisone injections to treat inflammation in his ankle joint and missed the 4th ODI, but returned for the final match