Brendon McCullum says it is time England "shoot for the stars" as they prepare for a defining year of Test cricket.

Under McCullum's leadership, England have won 22 of their 35 Tests, a major improvement on their one win in 17 before he took charge in May 2022.

England rose to second in the ICC's Test ranking earlier this month, their highest position during McCullum's tenure.

Having won their last red-ball series 2-1 against New Zealand in November-December 2024, England are looking to build on that in their one-off Test against Zimbabwe, which begins on May 22.

"We're not trying to pick this team up any more," McCullum told the BBC Radio 5 Live Cricket show.

"It's a matter of taking this team from a good team into being something English people are really proud of.

"We're actually travelling pretty good, but there's an opportunity now.

"We're working from a position of strength, but now's the time where we shoot for the stars."

Who are you most excited to see in action this summer? #ENGvZIM | #EnglandCricket pic.twitter.com/hfkH862LEM

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) May 2, 2025

England have a five-Test challenge against India at home, which starts in June, before they face Australia away in the Ashes later this year.

They are yet to win a Test series against Australia or India under McCullum, though they have won four Tests against them over the last three years.

Australia have also not lost a home Test to England since the 2010-11 season, with a 3-1 victory to claim the Ashes.

Despite the focus on those two series, McCullum insisted England will not underestimate Zimbabwe.

"We want to be where our feet are," he added.

"This game has an amazing ability to bring you back down to earth if you don't have the respect for the game or the respect for the opposition.

"We go into it as favourites, so we need to make sure we're rock-hard fit and ready to go and make good decisions under pressure."

England are unbeaten in all six Tests against Zimbabwe (W3 D3), with each of those three wins coming by an innings margin. They are one of two teams England are yet to lose to in the format (W2 against Ireland).

England have not lost their first match of a calendar year in the longest format since 2019 against the West Indies – they are undefeated in their five such fixtures since then (W4 D1).