Reuters Sports Schedule at 0001 GMT on Friday, June 23

Reuters sports schedule at 0001 GMT on Friday:

RUGBY

Lions tour of New Zealand

All Blacks, Lions finish preparations ahead of first test

AUCKLAND - The All Blacks and British & Irish Lions have done all the hard work with their kickers and teams and have their final acclimatisation training runs at Eden Park ahead of Saturday's eagerly awaited first test. (RUGBY-UNION/LIONS, expect from 0400 GMT/12 AM ET, by Nick Mulvenney and Greg Stutchbury, 400 words)

France tour of South Africa

South Africa, France captains hold news conference

JOHANNESBURG - Springboks skipper Warren Whiteley and France counterpart Guilhem Guirado hold news conferences ahead of the final test with the hosts 2-0 up in the three-match series. (RUGBY UNION-SAFRICA/, by Mark Gleeson, 400 words)

Australia's credibility on the line in Italy test

SYDNEY - With rugby union in Australia suffering a crisis of confidence, the Wallabies need to rebound smartly from a humiliating loss to Scotland last week when they face Italy at Lang Park in Brisbane on Saturday. (RUGBY-UNION-AUS-ITA/ (PREVIEW), expect by 0300 GMT/11 PM ET, 300 words)

SOCCER

Confederations Cup

Russia coach speaks to media ahead of last group game

MOSCOW - Russia coach Stanislav Cherchisov holds a news conference ahead of Saturday's match against Mexico which the hosts must win to have a realistic chance of reaching the semi-finals. (SOCCER-CONFEDERATIONS-RUS/ (PIX, TV), expect by 1900 GMT/3 PM ET)

European club news

We will bring all the latest transfer news from around Europe as teams improve their squads for next season. (SOCCER-COUNTRY-TEAM/, expect throughout)

MOTOR RACING

Azerbaijan Grand Prix

Hamilton and Vettel ready to challenge as practice starts

BAKU - Ferrari's championship leader Sebastian Vettel and Mercedes rival Lewis Hamilton will test the limits in practice for the eighth round of the season. We will have stories from around the paddock ahead of Sunday's race. (MOTOR-F1-AZERBAIJAN/, expect throughout)

GOLF

Spieth ends putting woes to lead Travelers

Jordan Spieth put an emphatic end to his putting woes during an impressive Travelers Championship debut on Thursday, grabbing a one-shot lead after the first round in Cromwell, Connecticut. (GOLF-TRAVELERS/, moving shortly, 400 words)

NBA

76ers take Fultz with first pick in NBA draft

NEW YORK – The Philadelphia 76ers selected University of Washington guard Markelle Fultz with the first overall pick in the NBA Draft on Thursday, bolstering the team's young core by adding the 19-year-old playmaker. (BASKETBALL-NBA/DRAFT, moved with updates to follow, by Larry Fine, 400 words)

ATHLETICS

U.S. nationals/world championships trials (until 25)

Sprinters, distance runners vie for world berths

SACRAMENTO, California – America's top sprinters, including newcomer Christian Coleman, begin preliminary competition in the men's and women's 100 metres on the first day of the U.S. nationals/world championships trials. (ATHLETICS-USA/ (PIX), expect by 0230 GMT/10:30 PM ET, by Gene Cherry, 400 words)

Jamaicans vie for world championship spots

KINGSTON - Jamaica use the national championships to select their team for the August worlds but as Usain Bolt has a wild card for the London event he is not expected to compete in the trials. (ATHLETICS-JAMAICA/, 400 words)

BASEBALL

Arrieta to take mound for Cubs in clash with Marlins

The World Series champion Chicago Cubs will turn to struggling ace Jake Arrieta when they visit the Miami Marlins while the New York Yankees will try to regain their lead in the American League East when they host the Los Angeles Angels in two of the 12 games on the Major League Baseball schedule. (BASEBALL-MLB-HIGHLIGHTS/, expect by 0530 GMT/1:30 AM ET, by The Sports Xchange, 800 words)

NORTH AMERICAN SPORTS

Roundups of off-field developments in the major North American professional sports leagues. (expect by 0000 GMT/8 PM ET, by The Sports Xchange, 500 words)

TENNIS

Gerry Weber Open

Federer faces Mayer for place in last four

HALLE, Germany - Top seed Roger Federer takes on holder Florian Mayer for a semi-final spot as the 18-times grand slam champion fine tunes his grasscourt game ahead of Wimbledon. (TENNIS-HALLE/, expect throughout, by Karolos Grohmann, 400 words)

Aegon Championships

Three former champions play in quarter-finals

LONDON - Three former Queen's Club champions -- Marin Cilic, Sam Querrey and Grigor Dimitrov -- are in the last eight at an event in which the top three seeds went out early. Fourth seed Cilic plays Donald Young, Querrey meets left-hander Gilles Muller and Dimitrov plays Daniil Medvedev. (TENNIS-LONDON/ (PIX, TV), expect by 1500 GMT/11 AM ET, by Martyn Herman, 400 words)

Mallorca Open

Holder Garcia resumes second round match with Cepelova

PALMA DE MALLORCA - Defending champion Caroline Garcia of France resumes her second round match against Jana Cepelova, which was suspended at 2-2 in the third set on Thursday as the light faded at the grasscourt event. (TENNIS-MALLORCA/, by Martyn Herman, 300 words)

CRICKET

England v South Africa - second T20

TAUNTON, England - England bid to clinch the T20 series against South Africa after a crushing nine-wicket victory in the first match at Southampton. (CRICKET-IT20-ENG-ZAF/, expect by 2000 GMT/4:PM ET, 300 words)

(Asia Desk Editor: Peter Rutherford)

(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)