In 1974 the first GN100 Scoop was released; this was the first bat to turn shaping on its head by removing the wood from the centre of the rear of the bat. By removing this wood, the bat became lighter, its sweet spot grew and its pick up improved. Even though there is less material, strong strokes are still possible if well-timed. It allows weaker players to play many strokes they would otherwise omit from their repertoire. This bat quickly became a big seller and various scooped bats such as the GN500, Dynadrive and Viper have been released by Gray Nicolls ever since, including a re-release of the Scoop itself for the 2012 English season. The removal of wood from the rear has been copied by many other companies without much critical acclaim.